Grant to Support Innovative Projects in the Kyiv Region

RIVCircular is a project co-funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe (Grant Agreement No. 101161013). The initiative aims to strengthen cooperation between regions and enhance European innovation ecosystems in the field of the circular economy.

The project brings together 11 partners from 7 countries: Spain, Norway, Belgium, France, Ukraine, Greece, and Austria. Ukraine is represented by the Department of Economics of the Kyiv Regional State Administration.

Key features of the project include:

• fostering cooperation among seven European regions in the circular economy;
• providing funding to stakeholders through a cascade funding mechanism;
• a total funding budget of EUR 12.35 million;
• alignment with the objectives of the New European Innovation Agenda and the development of regional innovation ecosystems.

Funding is provided in accordance with European Union State aid rules and the Horizon Europe framework. The call documentation also outlines the programme objectives, applicant eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, and thematic priorities, which applicants are encouraged to review before preparing and submitting their proposals.

For the Kyiv region, the grant programme is open to legal entities registered in the Kyiv region that meet the specified eligibility requirements.

Key eligibility requirements include:

• legal registration and primary project activities in the Kyiv region;
• eligible applicants include public and private organisations, universities, research institutions, companies, SMEs, and other business organisations;
• research organisations may receive funding of up to 70% of eligible costs for non-commercial activities;
• recoverable VAT is not considered an eligible cost and must therefore be excluded from the eligible budget;
• indirect (overhead) costs are not eligible for funding.

No pre-financing is available for participants from the Kyiv region. Interim payments are made following the positive evaluation of interim performance reports, while the final payment is released after successful project completion and assessment of the final results.

For communication and dissemination activities, beneficiaries are required to indicate that the project is co-funded by the Department of Economics of the Kyiv Regional State Administration and to use the logo of the Kyiv Regional State Administration.

The RIVCircular grant programme provides financial support for projects in the field of the circular economy. The estimated budget is allocated across eligible topics and participating regions, while the programme notes that the distribution of funds may be adjusted to ensure that the highest-ranked projects receive funding.

Eligible funding may cover:

• personnel costs directly related to project implementation;
• travel, accommodation, and subsistence expenses;
• equipment and instrument costs;
• goods and services, including materials, communication and dissemination activities, intellectual property, certification, translations, and publications;
• subcontracting (up to 10% of direct costs, subject to justification);
• indirect (overhead) costs in accordance with the applicable regional rules.

All costs must be directly linked to project implementation, necessary, reasonable, properly documented, and incurred during the project period. Applicants are required to justify the proposed budget separately for each cost category.

Funding is provided under the Grant Agreement and region-specific agreements. Depending on the participating region, payments may include pre-financing, interim payments, and final payments. The final payment is released after the successful completion of the project, verification of project results, achievement of KPIs, and delivery of all required outputs.

The RIVCircular grant programme supports projects focused on developing and deploying innovative solutions in the circular economy. Projects are expected to involve cooperation between organisations from the seven participating regions and address the eligible thematic areas.

Supported topics include:

• construction and demolition waste (CDW) circularity;
• circular energy integration and the valorisation of local waste streams for industrial efficiency;
• electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and reuse;
• circular economy in the textile industry;
• digital solutions for the circular economy.

Supported projects may include:

• development of new or improved products, processes, and services;
• prototyping, testing, demonstration, and pilot implementation;
• large-scale product validation and preparation for market deployment (TRL 6–8).

All proposals and supporting documents are treated confidentially. For collaborative projects, beneficiaries are required to conclude a Cooperation Agreement defining the roles, responsibilities, and implementation arrangements of the participating parties.

• Call publication.
• Submission deadline: 16 Sep 2026, 17:00 CET.
• Eligibility check.
• Individual expert evaluation.
• Consensus evaluation.
• Proposal ranking.
• Approval of results.
• Notification of applicants.
• Grant agreement signature.
• Project implementation starts.

Applicants must submit a complete application package using the required templates. All forms must be fully completed and submitted together with the proposal.

Required documents include:

• Form A – Administrative Data Sheet (including participant information, legal declarations, and contact persons; to be uploaded as a PDF);
• Budget – Detailed Financial Plan (Excel template);
• Form B – Technical Narrative and Description, including the planned activities and work packages (maximum 30 pages; to be uploaded as a PDF);
• Annex 8 – Declaration on Double Funding for Recipients (signed Word document).

Important notes:

• all four templates are mandatory;
• every section of the templates must be completed;
• proposals that do not comply with the submission requirements or do not include the complete set of required documents may be considered ineligible.

Under the grant programme, all funded projects are subject to continuous monitoring by the RIVCircular Team with the support of independent external experts.

Key monitoring and reporting requirements include:

• submission of interim and final project reports;
• monitoring of project outputs, KPIs, implementation progress, and overall project impact;
• oversight of financial performance, implementation quality, communication, and dissemination activities;
• review of financial statements by the relevant regional authorities.

If significant implementation delays, underperformance, consortium misconduct, or other issues affecting timely project delivery are identified, RIVCircular reserves the right to discontinue or restructure project funding at any stage of implementation.

The legal framework of the grant programme is governed by the RIVCircular project provisions and Grant Agreement No. 101161013. These rules regulate the legal relationship between the contracting authority and the beneficiary and also apply to funding recipients.

Key legal and regulatory requirements include:

• beneficiaries must comply with the Grant Agreement and the relevant provisions of the Model Grant Agreement;
• the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may exercise their rights under Article 25 of the Model Grant Agreement;
• funding recipients are required to comply with obligations relating to:
  • conflict of interest;
  • confidentiality and security;
  • ethics and values;
  • communication, dissemination, and project visibility;
  • specific procurement rules;
  • information obligations;
  • record-keeping and documentation.

These obligations also apply to third parties receiving support under the project.