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Section 2 will focus on a unique call for RIA, as several priorities/topics are strongly interrelated
(leading to several cross-cutting issues that have been highlighted as in the PRIMA SRIA, e.g. soil
conservation and restoration and food security).
This call shall be implemented in compliance with common principles to be agreed by the Participating
States and the European Commission, taking into account the principles set out in PRIMA basic act, in
Part One of Title VI of the Financial Regulation No 966/2012 and Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013, in
particular the principles of equal treatment, transparency, independent peer review evaluation and
selection.
As for section 1 of the AWP 2018, the Section 2 call will be launched in a two-stage process. PRIMA-IS
will be responsible for the evaluation of proposals, which will be conducted with analogous rules of
H2020 rules in a peer review process with a panel that will rank the proposals. Eligibility of proposals
will be first checked by the PRIMA-IS having regard to the eligibility criteria for participation set forth
in the PRIMA Decision. In this section 2, to receive the funds, the beneficiaries will have to sign a grant
agreement directly with their national funding bodies. Thus, a second eligibility check will be
performed by the national funding bodies, aimed at the verification of eligibility for funding
8
. In this
context proposals that are considered eligible for participation by PRIMA-IS (at the consortium level)
will enter into the evaluation process. However, in the event of a negative outcome of the verification
of eligibility for funding of any participant in the applicant consortium by a PS, PRIMA-IS may require
additional information from a consortium or the participant concerned, such as an attestation that the
funds to cover their participation in the project will be available.
At the end of the evaluation a unique ranking list will be produced by the panel in order to guarantee
that high quality projects will be funded. As some funding bodies allocated a budget to one or more
specific topic, and in the event that one or more projects cannot be funded (in case that a funding
body runs out of money), the projects following directly in the ranking may be selected
.
For details on
the evaluation and selection process please see sub-sections 5.2.6 and 5.2.7.
PRIMA Section 2 call will address the topics described in subsection 2.1 below (according to national
priorities) and the cross cutting issues among them. Research projects can address issues that are cross
cutting between two topics as long as they are both eligible for funding by the partner countries.
PRIMA Section 2 call will fund collaborative research projects that should have an impact and
contribute to demand and policy driven research.
When funding for training and mobility is allowed by the funding bodies these actions will be
encouraged and projects should integrate in their work plan schemes for the mobility of young
researchers / post graduates / post doctorates, in accordance with the modalities set out in national
regulation funding bodies.
Projects must deliver tangible outputs and enhance technological and social innovation, depending on
the research question addressed. The projects could include the use of innovative technologies, such
as smart digital technologies, space data and related data and technologies. When explicitly allowed
8
Please refer to table 6 to see indicative budget distribution of Participating States and to be Participating
States with respect to the calls covered by section 2.
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by the national regulations of the funding bodies, innovation actions should involve the private sector
in the project Consortium, and particularly relevant SMEs.
All participants to activities funded by the PRIMA IS or by Participating States of the PRIMA Programme
are required to label or co-label any communication or publication related to their activities with the
following acknowledgement "[name of the activity/grant code] is part of the PRIMA Programme
supported by the European Union", as well as with the PRIMA logo.
2.1.1 Thematic area 1: Management of water
Topic 1.1: Water resources availability and quality within catchments and aquifers
The challenges now faced by water planners call for a new generation of water management models
that addresses the broad impacts of global changes on aquifer storage and depletion trajectory
management, groundwater-dependent ecosystems, seawater intrusion and salinization,
anthropogenic and geogenic contamination of the whole water cycle, and long-term sustainability. On
the other hand, Mediterranean surface water bodies are characterized by intermittent streams:
ephemeral streams convey runoff from mountain headwaters to lowlands and help recharge alluvial
aquifers, sustain water resources and provide the same hydrological and ecological functions as
perennial streams by moving water and sediments throughout the watershed. Understanding the
complexity of the system under present and future climatic and socio-economic conditions is of crucial
importance for ensuring the long-term availability of water resources.
Topic 1.2: Sustainable, integrated water management
Water sustainability in the Mediterranean region should be ensured through improved technical tools
coupled with socio-economic studies to define the limits of water and energy use in certain key regions
under present and future global change scenarios. In this sense, it is necessary to recognize water-
energy-food synergies and balance the potential trade-offs between water and energy-use efficiency.
The issue of water transboundary cooperation through sound legal and institutional arrangements
might be taken into consideration in certain critical parts of the Mediterranean area.
Topic 1.3: Irrigation technologies and practices
In the Mediterranean basin, agriculture is by far the main user of water resources, and irrigation is a
crucial field practice influencing crop productivity and product quality. In addition, irrigation is a major
driver of solute transport in arid and semi-arid environments, having an important role in the
potentially negative impacts of improper water management on soil salinization and aquifer pollution.
The challenge is therefore to improve irrigation water productivity while minimizing the possible
environmental risks associated with irrigation. Technical solutions to be derived will have to consider
current procedures and governance settings that might prevent the real scale adoption of improved
irrigation technologies within the farmers’ communities in the Mediterranean.
2.1.2 Thematic area 2: Farming system
Topic 2.1: Adaptation of agriculture to climate change
Climate change is dramatically impacting the Mediterranean area and solutions need to be found to
adapt agricultural practices to rising temperatures, drought and soil salinity, and increasing occurrence
of extreme events. The situation is predicted to worsen in the near future, with the northern part of
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