The BlueActionBANOS (BAB) mission (September 2025 – August 2029) is firmly aligned with the EU’s "Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030" initiative and the European Green Deal and aims to deliver measurable contributions toward biodiversity conservation, pollution reduction, and the transition to a climate-neutral blue economy. It will provide practical and easily accessible support to a diverse set of established or emerging communities of actors to implement innovative and impactful actions and measures to restore our ocean, seas and waters.
Description
The overarching objective of BlueActionBANOS (BAB) is to facilitate the successful transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the Mission Ocean, where solutions piloted in the early stages are scaled up and deployed across a broader spectrum within the Baltic and North Sea Lighthouse Area.
BAB aims to mobilise and provide practical and easily accessible support to a diverse set of established or emerging communities of actors to implement innovative and impactful actions and measures to restore our ocean, seas and waters. BAB will achieve this by providing targeted financial assistance, technical guidance, and strategic knowledge-sharing, equipping communities with the tools and resources they need to address complex environmental challenges and drive sustainable transformation at local, regional, and national levels.
Activities
BlueActionBANOS (BAB) will provide the following three different, interlinked types of support to Mission Ocean communities of actors within the Baltic and North Sea (BANOS) Lighthouse area:
- Community-led Pilot Action Grants: At least 5 community-led pilot actions (CLAs), ranging from EUR 200,000 to EUR 2 million, will be funded. These actions will focus on piloting innovative solutions that align with one or several interlinked Mission Ocean’s objectives, demonstrating measurable progress in areas such as pollution reduction, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable blue economy practices.
- Transition Agenda Grants: BAB will fund at least 20 projects to develop transition agendas (TAs) with grants of up to EUR 100,000 each. These TAs will serve as strategic roadmaps that outline how specific communities can advance towards achieving the Mission Ocean’s objectives and integrate these efforts with broader regional, national, and EU policies.
- Technical Assistance will be provided by the BAB consortium tailored to the specific needs and context of each community of actors within the BANOS area, leveraging the collective expertise of the consortium and drawing on best practices and advances from the multitude of other European projects and initiatives related to the Mission Ocean. BAB communities will be able to benefit from individual counselling, in-depth sessions, expert and peer-to-peer reviews, workshops, webinars and trainings to empower them with the skills, knowledge, and motivation needed to apply for and implement their projects successfully.
Project partners
- SUBMARINER Network for Blue Growth EEIG (Lead partner)
- FundingBox Accelerator
- FundingBox Communities (FBC) - Affiliated entity
- VLAAMS INSTITUUT VOOR DE ZEE
- INNOVATUM
- University of Southern Denmark (SDU)
- Food & Bio Cluster Denmark
- Geological Survey of Finland
- Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL)
- Latvian Institute for Ecology
- Gdynia Maritime University
- University of Tartu
- Klaipeda University
- Norsk Instututit for Vannforskning
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency
- Blauwe Cluster
- Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission / City of Turku
- European Regions Research and Innovation Network ASBL (ERRIN)
- Christian Albrecht Universität
Funding
HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-02-01 — Community-Led Actions to Restore Our Ocean, Seas and Waters
Project information
The BlueActionBANOS (BAB) mission (September 2025 – August 2029) is firmly aligned with the EU’s "Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030" initiative and the European Green Deal and aims to deliver measurable contributions toward biodiversity conservation, pollution reduction, and the transition to a climate-neutral blue economy. It will provide practical and easily accessible support to a diverse set of established or emerging communities of actors to implement innovative and impactful actions and measures to restore our ocean, seas and waters.