LIFE Operating Grants

Expected Impact

The LIFE operating grants for non-profit making entities aim to strengthen the participation of civil society in the EU policy dialogue, as well as to support implementation and enforcement of Union environmental and climate objectives, including the clean energy transition, by the beneficiaries.

Objective

This call for proposals concerns LIFE Specific Operating Grant Agreements (SGA OG) . LIFE Specific Operating Grant Agreements will only be concluded with organisations that have successfully signed a LIFE 2026 Operating Grant Framework Partnership Agreements (FPA OG).

Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) under the LIFE Programme are long-term cooperation instruments that serve as umbrella for regular or recurrent grants to non-profit making entities which are involved in the development, implementation and enforcement of EU legislation and policy and which are primarily active in the field of environment or climate action, including energy transition, in line with the objectives of the LIFE Programme. They are a prerequisite for being able to sign annual Specific Operating Grant Agreements (SGAs), but do not create any legitimate expectations or entitlement to get them.

Applicants to the LIFE-2026-NGO-OG-SGA call for proposals MUST ALSO APPLY to the LIFE-2026-NGO-OG-FPA call for proposals.

Scope

Operating grants provide general financial support to the successful organisations. They do not support a specific project (like action grants), but the annual operating budget (or part of it) of the organisation. Operating grants follow the same rules for the grant agreements as action grants, but do not differentiate between direct and indirect costs. Operating grants are always mono-beneficiary grants supporting the annual activities of an organisation. Further details can be found in the call document.