Division (b) Award criteria

The following award criteria will only be applied to the full proposal. All proposals that meet the eligibility (and selection) criteria are admitted to an in-depth evaluation of their quality in the award phase. A proposal admitted to this phase will be given scores on the basis of the following award criteria:

The following award criteria are specific or contain elements that are specific to integrated projects:

• EU added value: extent and quality of the contribution to the objectives

  The extent to which each proposal contributes to one or several of the general and specific objectives of LIFE as set out in Articles 3, 10, 11 and 12 (LIFE Environment) and in Articles 3, 14, 15 and 16 (LIFE-Climate Action) of the new LIFE Regulation will be evaluated.

  The following specific aspects will be checked depending on the priority areas within which the project falls:

  • Specific criteria for projects under the sub-programme Environment

    • IP dealing with the implementation of Prioritised Framework Programmes (PAF) for NATURA 2000:

      The EU added value will have to be argued with regard to the project’s contribution towards achieving target 1 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the general objectives of the Habitats and Birds Directives, and in particular with respect to the contribution towards improving the conservation status of species and habitat types of Community Interest (Habitats Directive) and/or the status of bird species (Birds Directive).

    • IP implementing river basins management plans:

      The EU added value will have to be argued with regard to their contribution towards achieving WFD objectives. Proposed actions should target significant pressures affecting the environment’s capacity for water retention and the use of low impact measures (e.g. green infrastructure) for depollution. Such pressures should have been identified in the assessments carried out by MS for the preparation of implementation plans for relevant EU legislation and policies (e.g. WFD, MSFD, UWWTD, DWD, Bathing Water Directive, Flood directive and/or Drought plans).

      The projects should focus on large scale (e.g. sub-catchment or river basin) planning and establishment of measures to increase water retention in urban and rural areas, enhance infiltration, increase water storage capacity and remove pollutants through natural or ‘natural-like’ processes. They should seek synergies to implement actions that will redress existing hydro morphological pressures and improve biodiversity and amenity value.

    • IP dealing with implementation of waste management plans:

      The IP is designed to support the implementation of the Waste Management Plans (WMP) as required by Article 28 of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC^f2 (WFD) and/or Waste Prevention Programmes (WPP) as requested by Article 29 of the WFD.

      Their EU added value will be assessed with regard to their contribution to the implementation of the waste hierarchy (Article 4 of the WFD), the achievement of the recycling targets as foreseen in Article 11 of the WFD and additional targets included in the EU waste legislation, as well as the implementation of necessary measures to support those objectives.

    • IP dealing with the implementation of air quality plans and programs:

      The IP is designed to support the implementation and monitoring of local and regional air quality plans as defined by Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^f3 with the ultimate goal of contributing to National Air Pollution Reduction Programmes. If based on local Air Quality plans, projects should include coordination and cooperation between at least five cities with such plans; if based on a regional Air Quality Plan, projects should include coordination and cooperation between all local administrations and the regional administration. Large scale projects will be favoured.

  • Specific criteria for Climate Action projects

    • IP dealing with the implementation of climate change mitigation strategies, plans and roadmaps:

      The IP supports the implementation of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies, plans or low carbon economy roadmaps and concern specific municipalities or regions (e.g. as announced in the Covenant of Mayors), industrial or agricultural (by analysing land use on a regional scale, the social and economic context) sectors, or other economic sectors by introducing technology and service based approaches in a sustainable and innovative way. The IP could be complemented with necessary infrastructure investments or the development and deployment of innovative technologies and services in cities, regions and/or communities supported through other relevant Union funding programmes, also specified in the strategy/plan/roadmap. Their EU value added will be assessed with regard to the contribution of the IP to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the level of mainstreaming into different policies, the direct involvement of a broad range of stakeholders, and the extent to which the IP is an operative part of the strategy/plan/roadmap.

    • IP dealing with the implementation of climate change adaptation strategies, plans and roadmaps:

      The IP is designed to implement climate change adaptation strategies, plans or address specific climate change vulnerabilities (e.g. coastal areas, drought-prone areas and other priority areas as identified under Action 2 of the EU Adaptation Strategy). Measures funded from national sources or measures funded from other relevant Union funding programmes should complement the measures to be funded via the LIFE programme in order to implement an overarching adaptation strategy or plan. Support could e.g. be given to flood management in a cross-border river/coastal area or to urban adaptation measures involving several cities. Synergies with other environmental and climate policies should be a central theme of adaptation projects, e.g. climate change adaptation and biodiversity should be promoted, wherever relevant. EU value added will also be assessed with regard to the contribution of the IP to meeting the EU Adaptation Strategy’s objectives^f4, the level of mainstreaming into different sectors and the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders.

• EU added value: Extent and quality of the mobilisation of other funds, in particular Union funds: The quality of the coordination with other funding mechanism(s) and the level of mobilisation of other funds complementary to the LIFE foreseen (beyond the minimum necessary for eligibility) as well as the likelihood of their actual mobilisation and their functional link to the plan to be implemented will determine, whether an IP receives additional points under this criterion. IPs which are likely to mobilise Union funds with a functional link to the plan to be implemented and which foresee a satisfactory coordination mechanism will receive a higher score.

• EU added value: Quality of multi-purpose mechanism, synergies and integration: IP proposals will have to present particularly high quality multi-purpose delivery mechanisms (e.g. aiming at environmental and climate benefits and capacity-building) that make it possible to achieve results in other policy areas^f5, to create synergies with these policies and to integrate environmental and climate action objectives in them.