Cascading Call for Collaborative Projects: Spoke 07 "Policy, behaviour and education", University of Bologna.

The University of Bologna, as the leading institution of Spoke 7 within the PNRR OnFoods partnership, is launching its first cascading call aimed at a network of businesses, universities, and research centres for the development of innovative and sustainable solutions on Spoke 7 themes.

The cascading call for proposals related to OnFoods Spoke 07 is open until 11 March 2024 and is intended for fundamental research activities, industrial activities, and experimental development.

The financial allocation for this call, provided by the University of Bologna as the Implementing Body of Spoke 7, amounts to € 1,550,000.

The entities eligible to submit project proposals in collaborative mode only, provided they are external to the OnFoods Partnership, are: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Large Enterprises, Innovative Startups established for no more than 24 months, and Research Organisms.

Interventions in the form of collaborative research projects are fundable, where the beneficiaries of the aid participate in the development of the project, contribute to its implementation, and share the risks and results.

Projects must involve the participation of a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6 autonomous legal entities, among which there must be a state university or a PRU supervised by the MUR as the "Lead" entity, and at least one company.

Each proponent may participate in a maximum of 1 project proposal on a specific theme of this Call.

The fundable themes are: 1) systematic data collection in the field of collective catering; 2) food choices and implementation of interventions in the field of large-scale distribution; 3) strengthening of local food policies; 4) innovative methods and models to improve sustainability in public procurement for collective catering.

The project duration must not exceed 18 months from the date of the financing decree's issue.

The assessment of the projects will be carried out by the OnFoods Technical-Scientific Committee, which will evaluate: the project's consistency with the identified themes, the innovative content, the quality of the partnership, the economic and financial sustainability, the potential impact on the market and on the territory, the enhancement of human capital, and the presence of elements of novelty compared to the state of the art.

The assessment process will be divided into two phases: an eligibility check and an evaluation of the merit.

The resources will be allocated following the ranking list resulting from the evaluation of the merit.