Tag Archive: Funding

  1. The European Commission outlines funding criteria for small and medium enterprises in 2025

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    Source: EIT Mobility

    The SME Fund 2025 is offering financial assistance for protecting trademarks, designs, patents and plant varieties.

    The Ideas Powered for Business SME fund is a European Commission initiative that’s been implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with protecting their intellectual property (IP) rights. To assist them with accessibility and inclusivity challenges it is offering special funding of up to €2,500 until 5th December 2025.

    Funding application criteria

    Owners, authorised employees or external representatives of SMEs that have been established in the EU are eligible to apply for financial support, with a representative being defined as any third party, whether a legal or natural person, that is duly authorised to represent the SME legally. If companies select an external representative to apply on their behalf, then a “declaration of honour”, signed by both parties, needs to be submitted when completing the electronic application form. All grants will be deposited into the bank account indicated in the application.

    Types of funding vouchers

    SMEs can receive vouchers of the following amounts for protecting their trade marks, designs, patents and plant varieties:

    • Voucher 1: Trade Marks & Designs – €700
    • Voucher 2: National Patents and Prior Art Search – €1,000
    • Voucher 3: European Patents and Legal Costs – €2,500
    • Voucher 4: Community Plant Varieties – €1,500

    Evaluation of the submitted applications during the period: weekly cut-off: every Friday.

    Evaluation and notification period: 10 working days from cut-off.

  2. UK Government announces €119 million for walking and cycling infrastructure

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    Source: Zag Daily, S.Musa

    The British government’s Autumn Budget has allocated funding to improving active travel

    This latest move to facilitate active travel infrastructure has been welcomed by sustainable transport advocates after previous funding was slashed by 75% in 2023. The new investment seeks to reinstate support for walking and cycling, aiming to improve public health and reduce car dependency across the country.

    Jim Densham, the policy manager of charity Cycling UK, has expressed appreciation for the renewed commitment, but also cautioned that it may not be enough to fully meet the UK’s long-term health and sustainability goals. “We’re pleased to see the Chancellor prioritise sustainable transport even despite the country’s difficult financial situation. Today’s announcement will help return us to previous active travel levels but those levels will not be enough if the government wants to achieve its health missions going forward.” Densham told Zag Daily.

    Just before the Budget announcement, Cycling UK joined 17 other organizations in an open letter urging the government to dedicate 10% of the transport budget to active travel, totalling about £2 billion annually. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) supports this recommendation, emphasizing the need for substantial investment to match the active travel benefits seen in countries like Denmark and the Netherlands.

    IPPR Head of Transport Policy Stephen Frost acknowledged the positive impact of the £100 million (€119 million) , “The budget commitment to maintain dedicated funding for active travel into the 2025/26 financial year will provide some funding certainty and, combined with investment in city regions and other local transport projects, will see improvements made across England to how easy it is for people to get around actively.” However he also noted that it falls short of the government’s active travel ambitions, “At £100 million, the dedicated funding falls short of what’s needed to deliver on the government’s ambitions for active travel and the Department for Transport should make increasing this a priority on the conclusion of the review of its capital spending commitments.”

    Simon Munk of London Cycling Campaign shared similar sentiments, welcoming the funding but expressing concerns over the ongoing fuel duty freeze. Munk warned that without more action to curb private car use, issues like pollution and road danger would remain challenging.

    While the funding represents a positive shift, transport advocates continue to call for more comprehensive, long-term support to help build a robust active travel network across the UK.

  3. Bloomberg Philanthropies provides $100,000 grants for art-focused street redesign projects

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    Source: Zag Daily

    Bloomberg Philanthropies is expanding its Asphalt Art Initiative grants, increasing funding fourfold to support projects focused on traffic safety and public spaces that protect cyclists and pedestrians through asphalt art interventions.

    Asphalt art involves visually striking designs on roadways and pedestrian areas, using vibrant colours to enhance visibility and reduce collisions.

    Originally launched in 2019 for cities across North America and Europe, the initiative offered $25,000 grants. Now, Bloomberg Philanthropies, based in New York City, will provide grants of up to $100,000 to 10 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. for arts-driven street redesign projects.

    “Incorporating art into street safety improvements affirms that city streets are used not only by drivers, but by pedestrians and cyclists too, and should be designed to accommodate all users safely,” said David Andersson, a member of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Team, in an interview with Zag Daily.

    “Based on the success of the initiative’s past projects, we have increased the grant size to $100,000 to invite even larger and more ambitious traffic safety and public space projects with the potential for catalytic impact.

    “We want to support interventions that transform signature streets, create dynamic new pedestrian plazas, or enact other similarly transformative roadway redesigns.”

    To date, Bloomberg Philanthropies has backed 90 projects across North America and Europe, including the pedestrianisation of Times Square during Michael Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor. This project closed sections of Broadway to vehicular traffic, opened them to pedestrians, and transformed 2.5 acres of asphalt with vibrant murals, leading to a 35% drop in pedestrian injuries, a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and Times Square being named a top 10 global retail destination.

    A 2022 Bloomberg Philanthropies Safety Study of 22 asphalt art projects in the U.S. found a 50% reduction in crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians. These findings contributed to the inclusion of asphalt art in U.S. street design guidelines for the first time.

    All cities in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. with populations of at least 50,000 are eligible to apply for the grant. Project teams must include a city agency or department as the lead applicant. Selected cities will receive technical support from Bloomberg Associates in collaboration with tactical urbanism firm Street Plans Collaborative and evaluation assistance from transportation firm Sam Schwartz.

    “The selection criteria for applicants includes a project’s potential impact, viability, and quality and visual interest. Projects should be ambitious arts-driven street redesigns that address a meaningful and specific safety challenge, engage community members, and include metrics to measure success.”

  4. Horizon Europe: Over €310 million available to fund new energy and mobility research projects

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    Source: European Commission

    The European Commission has launched new calls for projects under Horizon Europe’s Work Programme for 2023-2024 Cluster 5 – which groups together topics on Climate Action, Energy, and Mobility.

    These calls offer a total of €310.05 million in EU funding, with an application deadline set for 18 April 2024. They encompass various subject areas or ‘destinations’, including:

    1. Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition (HORIZON-CL5-2024-D2-01)
    2. Efficient, sustainable, and inclusive energy use (HORIZON-CL5-2024-D4-01)
    3. Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes (HORIZON-CL5-2024-D5-01)

    Details regarding the calls and application procedures can be found in the table below:

    Call ReferenceNumber of
    Topics    		Type of actionBudget available
    (€ million)    		Deadline
    HORIZON-CL5-
    2024-D2-01    		5HORIZON IA;
    HORIZON RIA    		7218/04/2024
    HORIZON-CL5-
    2024-D4-01    		3HORIZON IA3618/04/2024
    HORIZON-CL5-
    2024-D5-01    		18HORIZON CSA;
    HORIZON IA;
    HORIZON RIA    		202.0518/04/2024
    310.05

    Background

    Horizon Europe, with a budget of €95.5 billion, is the EU’s primary funding program for research and innovation. Energy, Climate Action, and Mobility research actions fall under Cluster 5, aimed at propelling the twin green and digital transitions to meet the EU’s climate objectives and enhance energy resilience.

    How to apply

    Funding opportunities under Horizon Europe consult the multiannual Climate, Energy, and Mobility work program. The work programme of Horizon Europe 2023-2024 was adopted by the European Commission in December 2022.

    Detailed instructions and necessary documents for proposal submission are available on the Funding and Tenders portal.

    Requirements

    The requirements for submitting a project proposal are detailed in the relevant documents published on the individual call page.

    Evaluation of submitted proposals is conducted by independent experts, and successful applicants receive evaluation results within five months of the submission deadline. Grant agreements are finalized within eight months after the submission deadline.

  5. Pendelfonds subsidizes sustainable commuting in Belgium

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    The commuter fund is now open for applications for projects that improve the connection between public transport and the workplace, and projects that stimulate the use of nearby bicycle highways.

    Commuting must be more sustainable. We still use the car too much to get to work and this without taking one or more colleagues with us. In the near future, the share of private car use in commuting should decrease. The share of bicycles and public transport in commuting must increase.

    The Pendelfonds subsidy has been set up in order to achieve these objectives, among other things. Pendelfonds subsidizes projects that promote sustainable commuting. Projects aimed at reducing the number of car journeys in the field of commuting may be eligible. Companies or other private institutions, but also local or provincial governments or other public institutions (in collaboration with a private partner) can also apply for the subsidy.

    The subsidy amounts to a maximum of half of the costs associated with the project implementation, with a maximum of 200,000 euros when a company submits alone. This maximum amount increases depending on whether the project is submitted by two or more companies: 250,000 euros for 2 companies, 300,000 euros for 3 companies, 350,000 euros for 4, and 400,000 for 5 or more companies. The project duration is a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 years.

    On 18 September, the 14th call for Pendelfonds applications was opened and companies and governments can apply to submit a dossier. With this funding, the Flemish government aims to give subsidies to initiatives that make commuting more sustainable. The 14th call is aimed at projects that improve the connection between public transport and the workplace, and at projects that stimulate the use of nearby bicycle highways.

    Companies and organisations that want to submit a project can apply for a filing number from 18 September to 18 October. After that, they have until January 18 to complete the grant application. The more a submitted project falls under the focus of the call, the higher the score of the project, and the more chance of receiving funding.

  6. Call for applications – knowledge brokerage programme for early to mid career researchers

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    Source: Mobilise

    The SSH CENTRE project, which includes Mobilise as one of its consortium members, is providing funding for 30 PhD and Early to Mid Career Researchers in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH).

    This funding is intended to support their participation in an initiative focused on knowledge brokerage for policymaking in the areas of climate, energy, and mobility. Each participant will receive an honorarium of €2,000 for their involvement in the entire program, which will take place from July 2023 to July 2024.

    To be eligible, applicants must be SSH researchers who have not previously served as principal investigators on grants exceeding €100,000.

    The program will involve various activities, including online training on knowledge brokerage for policy work. The participants will be divided into six groups and tasked with developing and implementing an online knowledge brokerage initiative. This initiative aims to assist six European partner cities in achieving their decarbonization goals by identifying, organizing, and sharing relevant SSH knowledge. Each research team will collaborate with city representatives, initially through online meetings and later during in-person workshops held in the respective cities, to help shape their knowledge brokerage initiatives.

    The deadline for applications is Monday, July 3rd at 11:59 (CEST).

    Follow the link for more information and to apply.

  7. Austria launches folding e-bike funding plus tighter e-scooter regulations in Vienna

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    Austrian policy developments across the light electric mobility experience

    Source: SAZ Bike, TheMayor.eu

    Electric drive folding bikes are now included, for the first time, in a subsidy initiated by the Ministry of Climate Protection, in cooperation with the sports retail trade. Private individuals, companies, clubs and communities may now benefit from funding up to 600 Euros (450 Euros via the Ministry of Climate Protection and 150 Euros from the sports retail trade) towards folding electric or non-electric bikes, plus one bicycle service. Live since March 1 of this year, the initiative aims to make cycling more attractive to a wider group of riders, especially where folding e-bikes are more adaptable to multi-modal and public transportation. Indeed, for private individuals to be eligible for the subsidy, they need to show possession of an annual ticket for public transit. The folding bike itself must also be under 110 x 80 x 40cm folded.

    Austria has seen further regulatory developments this month in the form of an announced overhaul of e-scooter regulations in Vienna. The main change will see the city set up 200 designated parking spaces for electric scooters, making it impossible to end your ride unless you park in an official space. The move is intended to better control pavement parking, and parking spaces will be situated on the road, next to WienMobil bike stations. Sites can park 8 to 10 scooters and there will be a parking ban with a radius of 100 metres around them. Outside of these stations, riders are instructed to park between cars.

    Vienna already enacted a 500 scooter cap in its central zone and a 1,500 cap in districts 2 through 9 and 20, and in the future intends to designate red zones around hospitals, markets and other hotspots, where scooters will not work and parking violations will be enforced.

  8. TAITO launches Indiegogo e-scooter kickstart campaign

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    Source: Indiegogo

    LEVA-EU member, TAITO, has successfully launched its e-scooter kickstart scheme through Indiegogo. The Belgian start-up aims to take commuters to their destination in a safer, more enjoyable, and efficient manner. The e-scooter incorporates a three-wheel design and a wide bamboo standing platform – these features allow riders to feel more secure as they travel.

    At the time of writing, TAITO had reached its primary funding goal of €20,000, with over a month remaining for additional backers and investors to join the campaign.

    Visit the TAITO kickstart page here.

  9. Close to 400 applications for cargo bike subsidy in Saxony, Germany

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    Source: SAZ Bike

    Over 2021, a total 386 funding applications were submitted in Saxony by clubs, companies, municipal and special-purpose associations.

    Since March 2021, Saxony has offered a subsidy of up to 500 euros for bicycles and up to 1500 euros for pedelecs. Organizations can apply to have up to five companions sponsored each year, with a further 700,000 euros available in 2022 to continue building on the scheme’s success. Economics Minister Martin Dulig (SPD) shared, “The continuously high number of applications shows that there is a great need for such means of transport. Especially in urban areas, the cargo bike has great potential as an agile and environmentally friendly means of transport.”

    While there has been minor criticism of the program as it finds its feet, there is no denying the transformative effect it is having on communities in Saxony. Highlighting the massive potential of green transport methods.