Beta offers a free and confidential National Contact Point (NCP) service for LIFE+. This service is available to all organisations that would like to find out more information or participate in LIFE+.

Beta Technology provides the following services:

• Helpline open Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• Advise applicants on the components of the programme, and which component would best fit their proposal
• Provide advice and support for applicants preparing their proposals
• Proposal feedback on LIFE+ proposals for eligibility and content
• Collection of all proposals before sending to Defra
• Presentations at relevant events

*Finally it should be noted that it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the necessary rules and regulations (as mentioned in the Guides for Applicants) have been adhered to upon final submission of the application to the European Commission.

LIFE+ 2009 Call - CLOSED

The 2009 call for proposals opened on 15th May 2009 with a €250 million budget available for the co-financing of projects under the three headings; Nature and Biodiversity; Environment Policy and Governance; Information and Communication.

The calendar for the 2009 call is:

• 2009 call for proposals opened - 15th May 2009
• EC workshop for potential UK applicants - 26th June 2009 (for more information please click here)
• Final submission of proposals to Beta Technology - 15th September 2009 (information regarding the submission proceedure will be available on this page in the coming weeks)
• Deadline for Member States to send proposals to the Commission - 22nd October 2009
• Eligibility, evaluation and revision - October 2009 - June 2010
• Announcement of project selection - July - August 2010
• Earliest possible starting date for 2009 projects - 1st September 2010

The European Commission has implemented a new, simple and streamlined funding programme for the environment. It started in 2007 when the EU's new budgetary period began. The new programme called ‘LIFE+’ (LIFE Plus) has become the EU's single financial instrument targeting only the environment.

LIFE+ closely supports the four priorities of the 6th Environment Action Programme (6EAP) running from 2002-2012. These are:

• Climate change
• Nature and bio-diversity
• Health and quality of life
• Natural resources and waste

The Commission has proposed to commit a total of €2.143 billion from 2007 to 2013 to LIFE+, with at least 78% of the budget used for the co-financing of project action grants. Of this at least 50% is allocated for nature and biodiversity projects. During the period 2007-2013 the European Commission will launch one call for LIFE+ projects per year. The amount allocated for co-financing projects under this first call of proposals is set at €187 million.

The previous LIFE Programme which included the areas, LIFE Nature, LIFE Environment and LIFE Third Countries was the most prominent funding programme focusing on environmental issues. The budget for this programme was around €240 million per year. LIFE+ will have a total budget of roughly €300 million per year during the 2007-2013 period.

The EC have produced some case study brochures to showcase successful LIFE projects. Please click on a title below to download a brochure.

• Breathing LIFE into Greener Businesses
• LIFE and Europe's Grasslands: Restoring a Forgotten Habitat

The purpose of LIFE+ is to bring about a simplified, single environmental framework. It will regroup a broad range of existing environmental programmes and instruments. These include the last LIFE programme, the Forest Focus and Urban programmes, DG Environment’s funding programme for environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and a general fund for policy development and implementation.

LIFE+ has been designed to contribute to the development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and communication of EU environment policy. The Commission has created three strands:

• LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity
• LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance
• LIFE+ Information and Communication

LIFE+ Nature:

Aims to:

• Co-finance best practice or demonstration projects
• Fund the implementation of the objectives of the EU Birds’ directive 79/409/EEC and the EU Habitats’ directive 92/43/EEC including the Natura 2000 network of sites

Focuses on:

• Sustainable long-term investments in Natura 2000 sites
• Conservation actions for species targeted by the Birds’ and Habitats’ directives
• Projects must ‘demonstrate best practice’
• Co-financing rate is generally 50% (but up to 75% when clearly targeting priority species or habitats)
• Land purchase is possible
• A significant part of the project budget should be allocated to ‘concrete conservation actions’
• Recurring conservation management actions for species, habitats and Natura 2000 sites are ineligible

LIFE+ Biodiversity:

Aims to:

• Co-finance innovative or demonstration projects
• Funds the implementation of certain objectives of the Commission Communication COM (2006)- Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 – and beyond

Focuses on:

• Demonstrating innovation measures for enhancing biodiversity in both terrestrial and marine areas, without regard to the Natura 2000 status
• Actions must be different from and have an added value compared to those in Natura 2000 network
• Co-financing rate for projects is 50%
• Land purchase is ineligible
• A significant part of the project budget should be allocated to ‘concrete conservation actions’

LIFE+ Nature or Biodiversity?

Aims to:

• Develop innovative policy approaches, technologies, methods and instruments
• Consolidate the knowledge base with regards environment policy and legislation
• Monitor environmental pressures – including forests and environmental interactions
• Implement a Community environmental policy

Focuses on:

• Climate change, water, air, soil, urban environment, noise, chemicals, environment and health, waste and natural resources, forests, innovation, strategic approaches and governance
• Co-financing rate for projects is 50% (maximum)

Aims to:

• Implementing communication and awareness raising campaigns on environmental, nature protection or biodiversity conservation issues
• Raising awareness for forest fire prevention
• Special training for agents involved in forest fire prevention

Focuses on:

• Ensuring regular and effective information flow to provide the basis for policy decisions on the environment, and to provide accessible information to citizens on the state and trends of the environment
• Disseminating information, raising awareness and develop specific skills on environmental issues, including forest fire prevention
• Co-financing for projects 50% (maximum)

What’s New

• Proposals will be submitted on CD-ROM, in .pdf format only (scan of the proposal forms, including signatures and stamps where necessary including maps for LIFE+ Nature and obligatory annexes).
• Where signatures, individual forms or obligatory annexes are missing, applicants will be given the possibility to resubmit these missing documents/forms within five working days.
• The proposal must be submitted as two 'black and white-only' (with the exception of maps provided in the form B2b in LIFE+ Nature abd Biodiversity proposals) .pdf documents including all technical and financial forms. These two documents should be as follows:

1. First .pdf document: Forms A1 to A7 (plus A8 for LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity and for LIFE+ Information and Communication proposals aiming at contributing to forest fire prevention) should be scanned and submitted as a single .pdf file of the original, printed, completed and signed (where applicable) using size A4 paper forms.
2. Second .pdf document: All other technical (i.e. B and C forms) and the output indicator (D forms) submitted as a .pdf document directly converted from the electronic file, in order to ensure a smaller file size of better quality.
3. Third .excel document: financial forms.

* For more information on application format please see p4 of the Evaluation Guide.

The European Commission organises the annual call for proposals, selects, revises and monitors projects and makes payments with the help of:

• External experts for the selection and revision of proposals
• External monitoring teams for the monitoring of ongoing projects

For further information on the whole LIFE+ application process please click here

• Only the EU 27 countries are eligible at present.
• LIFE+ is open to all legal persons, whether public or private, commercial or non-commercial, that are legally established in the EU
• Project proposals can either be submitted by a single entity or a partnership from one or more of the 27 member states of the EU
• Member States are responsible for forwarding all project proposals to the Commission, setting national priorities and objectives, and preparing comments on proposals, in particular in relation to national annual priorities
• LIFE+ projects must take place only on the territory of the EU member states.

FAQs Resulting From LIFE+ Workshops

A document providing answers to frequently asked questions resulting from the 2008 LIFE+ workshops, organised by DG Environment of the European Commission within the context of the 2008 Call for Proposals, is now available online.

Topics covered range from general administrative and financial issues, to more specific questions relating to the three components: LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity, LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance and LIFE+ Information and Communication.

Note that the answers provided are for guidance purposes only and do not replace the official documents published with the call for proposals, which remain the basis on which decisions will be taken.

General Pointers

• Before you undertake a project, please check the LIFE project database located here. One of the ways the Commission and their experts will decide if an approach is innovative is by looking at this database and it is important that those preparing proposals establish what the Commission has funded previously before they prepare their bid. This is particularly important when submitting to the LIFE+ Environmental Policy and Governance area.
• LIFE+ will NOT finance projects that fall under other EC funding instruments. These include the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, the European Fisheries Fund and the Seventh Framework Programme. Please check these routes first.
• Does your proposal fall into the three LIFE+ pillars? See definitions within this page
  
  • LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity
  • LIFE+ Environmental Policy and Governance
  • LIFE+ Information and Communication
    
• Best-practice or demonstration proposals for implementing the objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directives, should be submitted under LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity.
• Proposals relating to the aim of halting the loss of biodiversity within the EC should be submitted under LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity
• Demonstration and/or innovation projects related to any of the "priority areas of action" set out in the document LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance, Guidelines for applicants 2009 should be submitted under LIFE+ Environmental Policy and Governance.
• Projects contributing to the monitoring of the environmental status of forests within the European Union territory should be submitted under LIFE+ Environmental Policy and Governance.
• There is NO pre-determined project duration for a LIFE+ project. Be aware it must be long enough to complete all actions and objectives set out in the project plan. Therefore most projects last 2-5 years.
• You are advised to build a six month safety margin into your project proposal. Previous LIFE projects have failed to meet all actions and objectives, due to time constraints.
• Three payments will be made to the project (first pre-financing, second pre-financing and final payment).
• All applicants will be asked to explain how they intend to ensure that the 'carbon footprint' of their project is kept as low as possible.
• Be aware that there is no fixed minimum project budget size, but the EC does seem to favour the co-financing of large, ambitious LIFE+ proposals with a substantial budget, with the average grant awarded in excess of € 1 million.
• A 2% civil servant rule applies to existing public body/authority civil servant personnel working on a LIFE+ project. In addition to the guidance provided by the EC’s LIFE Unit, Beta as the UK LIFE+ National Contact Point has created a short guidance note. If you think this rule might apply to you and your project please read the following guide.
• Following a change to the Commission's interpretation of eligible personnel costs, pension contributions are ineligible in the UK as they are not considered to be obligatory social charges. This decision is being backdated but we have no further details at this time. As soon as more information is released it will be posted here.
  

Legal Status

• LIFE+ is open to all legal persons, whether public or private, commercial or non-commercial, that are legally established in the EU.

Filling in the Forms

• Make sure you fill in all the obligatory forms.
• Ensure forms A2, A4, A5, A7 and A8 (if required) are signed, stamped and dated.
• Form B1 must be in English.
• Include detailed maps if appropriate (format A3 or A4): Ensure they include a readable scale, title and background details (e.g. village names, rivers, etc.).
• Some forms or sections are blank, have you indicated 'not applicable', 'no relevant information' or an equivalent mention.

Beta Technology acts on behalf of Defra to collect proposals for the LIFE+ calls. Beta Technology will perform a proposal check for eligibility and content and ensure that all the correct forms have been included and completed correctly.

2009 Call Calendar

LIFE+ is designed to complement other EU funding programmes which target investment in the environment. Please note that both the rural and regional development funds will continue to provide funding for environmental goals. Other funding includes:

• The Seventh Framework Programme supports specific environmental projects predominately in the Cooperation area, such as theme 2 – Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and Biotechnology and theme 6 – Environment (including climate change).
• The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) supports environmental innovation and aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are its main target, and the programme supports all types of innovation activities (such as eco-innovation). It will provide better access to finance and deliver business support services in the regions.
• Structural Funds are intended to be used to help sponsor projects which will directly address locally identified needs (e.g. to help train people with new skills, or help set-up new businesses), these projects can link in with environmental topics.
• INTERREG IVC is an EC Initiative set up to promote interregional co-operation. It has a clear focus on innovation, the knowledge economy, environmental and risk management. Different types of interregional and network projects will be funded. It is an instrument to link regions together and to help member states and regions implement actions aiming at economic modernisation. Finally it is an important instrument for implementing the EU initiative for Regions for Economic Change (RFEC).
• The EC have produced a practical guide to help potential beneficiaries of their programmes find their way through their three funding instruments (cohesion policy which is funded through the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund; the Research Framework Programme and the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme) and identify the most appropriate funding scheme for them. It provides a concise description of the three funding sources, explains how they can, in practice, be combined and provides policy makers with advice on setting up mechanisms at the national and regional levels to foster co-ordinated access to them. To access the guide, please click here.
• Eco-Innovation is about changing consumption and production patterns and developing technologies, products and services to reduce our impact on the environment. Business and innovation come together to create sustainable solutions that make better use of precious resources and reduce the negative side-effects of our economy on the environment. The EC is particularly keen to accept proposals from SMEs, however any legal entity is eligible. EC funding will cover 40 to 60% of eligible costs.