cdca1ea1a7
- Reorganized funding program structure: moved standalone .md files into organized directories with PROGRAM_INFO.md and APPLICATION_SCOPE.md - Created budget files for selected priority programs: * EIC Accelerator: budget_breakdown.csv and budget_justification.md (€1.815M) * ZIM: budget_breakdown.csv and budget_justification.md (€465k) * DBU: budget_breakdown.csv and budget_justification.md (€152.5k) * LIFE Programme: budget_breakdown.csv and budget_justification.md (€1.815M) - Created team CV files for all selected programs (CV_Damir_Mukimov.md) - Added application documents structure: * funding/applications/budget/ - Master budget files and templates * funding/applications/team_cvs/ - Master CV and team expertise summary - Updated FUNDING_GAP_ANALYSIS.md to reflect completed documents - Added APPLICATION_REQUIREMENTS_REPORT.md with detailed requirements - Added PREPARATION_PRIORITY.md for application preparation workflow
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Budget Justification - LIFE Programme Strategic Nature Projects (SNaP)
Program: LIFE Programme Strategic Nature Projects (SNaP)
Call Topic: Circular Economy Sub-programme
Grant Requested: €1,089,000 (60% rate) or up to €1,724,250 (95% rate for SNaP)
Duration: 18 months (Months 1-18)
Project: City Resource Graph - Industrial Symbiosis Platform
Deadline: 5 March 2026 (Full Proposals)
Date: November 2025
Executive Summary
This budget request covers an 18-month implementation project for the City Resource Graph platform - a Strategic Nature Project (SNaP) aligned with LIFE Programme's Circular Economy sub-programme. The grant request ranges from €1,089,000 (standard 60% rate) to €1,724,250 (95% rate for Strategic Nature Projects), with total project cost of €1,815,000.
The project demonstrates tangible environmental benefits through industrial symbiosis, waste reduction, resource efficiency, and climate-neutral processes - core objectives of LIFE Programme's Circular Economy sub-programme (€73M allocation in 2025).
Budget Overview
| Category | Amount (EUR) | Percentage | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | €1,335,000 | 73.55% | Core team of 12 specialists for 18 months |
| Infrastructure | €300,000 | 16.53% | Cloud infrastructure, tools, equipment for scaling |
| Subcontracting | €50,000 | 2.75% | Legal, accounting services |
| Travel | €40,000 | 2.20% | Partner meetings, stakeholder engagement |
| Marketing | €85,000 | 4.68% | Communication, dissemination |
| Other | €5,000 | 0.28% | Communication, software licenses |
| TOTAL PROJECT | €1,815,000 | 100.00% | 18-month implementation project |
Grant Request Options:
- Standard Rate (60%): €1,089,000
- Priority Area (75%): €1,361,250
- Strategic Nature Project (95%): €1,724,250
Detailed Justification by Category
1. Personnel Costs (€1,335,000 - 73.55%)
Team Composition: 12 team members (Year 1 base team) extended over 18 months
Engineering Team (€1,110,000)
-
Backend Engineers (4): €700,000
- Platform development, matching engine, graph database (Neo4j)
- Critical for circular economy resource matching implementation
-
Frontend Engineers (2): €350,000
- User-facing platform, map visualization, Progressive Web App (PWA)
- Essential for stakeholder engagement and user adoption
-
DevOps Engineer (1): €175,000
- Infrastructure management, deployment, monitoring
- Critical for scalable, production-ready implementation
-
Data Engineer (1): €175,000
- Data pipelines, ETL processes, knowledge graph integration
- Essential for automated data ingestion and environmental impact monitoring
Leadership & Business Team (€225,000)
-
CTO/Founder (1): €210,000
- Technical leadership, project management
- Proven track record: EXIST Business Start-up Grant recipient
-
BD/Sales Manager (1): €175,000
- Stakeholder engagement, partnership development
- Critical for circular economy ecosystem building
Domain Experts (€315,000)
-
Domain Expert - Circular Economy (1): €157,500
- Industrial symbiosis facilitation, regulatory compliance
- Essential for circular economy alignment and environmental impact validation
-
Domain Expert - Industrial Symbiosis (1): €157,500
- Industrial symbiosis expertise, stakeholder engagement
- Critical for domain knowledge and replication strategy
Personnel Justification: The team combines technical expertise (Go, Neo4j, PostGIS), domain knowledge (circular economy, industrial symbiosis), and proven track record (EXIST grant). This balanced team is essential for implementing a Strategic Nature Project with tangible environmental benefits and clear uptake plan.
2. Infrastructure & Equipment (€300,000 - 16.53%)
Cloud Infrastructure (€270,000)
-
Months 1-6: €30,000 (Phase 1-2)
- AWS EKS/GCP GKE, managed Neo4j, PostgreSQL/PostGIS
- MVP infrastructure for pilot deployment
-
Months 7-12: €90,000 (Phase 3)
- Scaling infrastructure for enterprise features
- Environmental impact monitoring infrastructure
-
Months 13-18: €150,000 (Phase 4)
- Production infrastructure for replication scale
- Multi-region deployment for replication toolkit
Justification: Cloud infrastructure supports scalable implementation and replication across multiple locations - essential for Strategic Nature Project impact and uptake.
Development Tools (€18,000)
- GitHub Enterprise, IDEs, CI/CD tools
- Essential for team collaboration
Monitoring & Security (€10,000)
- Monitoring tools, security compliance
- Critical for production operations
Third-party Services (€8,000)
- Stripe (payment processing), Mapbox (map visualization)
- Essential for platform features
Hardware/Equipment (€6,500)
- Laptops, development equipment
- Essential for team setup
Infrastructure Justification: Infrastructure costs support scalable implementation and environmental impact monitoring - critical for Strategic Nature Project success and replication.
3. Subcontracting (€50,000 - 2.75%)
Legal Services (€35,000)
- Company registration, contracts, IP protection
- Essential for legal compliance
Accounting/Finance (€15,000)
- Financial management, LIFE Programme grant reporting
- Essential for grant compliance
Subcontracting Justification: Professional services ensure legal compliance and proper grant reporting - essential for LIFE Programme funding requirements.
4. Travel & Conferences (€40,000 - 2.20%)
Business Travel (€38,000)
- Stakeholder meetings (utilities, municipalities, industrial parks)
- Replication site visits
- Essential for stakeholder engagement and replication strategy
Conferences & Events (€2,000)
- Circular economy conferences
- Dissemination and knowledge sharing
Travel Justification: Travel supports stakeholder engagement, replication site visits, and dissemination activities - essential for Strategic Nature Project uptake and replication.
5. Marketing & Sales (€85,000 - 4.68%)
Marketing Campaigns (€50,000)
- Communication and dissemination activities
- Stakeholder awareness and engagement
Sales Materials (€13,000)
- Presentations, case studies, replication toolkit materials
- Essential for replication and uptake
Website & Branding (€22,000)
- Website development, branding materials
- Essential for professional presence and dissemination
Marketing Justification: Marketing and communication activities support dissemination and replication - critical for Strategic Nature Project uptake plan.
6. Other Costs (€5,000 - 0.28%)
Communication & Software Licenses (€5,000)
- Phone, internet, software licenses
- Essential for team communication
Environmental Impact and Circular Economy Alignment
Tangible Environmental Benefits ✅
-
Waste Reduction
- Industrial symbiosis enables waste-to-resource matching
- Reduces landfill waste and incineration
- Measurable Impact: Track waste diverted from landfill (tons)
-
Resource Efficiency
- Enables resource sharing between businesses
- Reduces primary resource extraction
- Measurable Impact: Track resources saved through matching (m3, kWh)
-
Recycling Enhancement
- Improves recycling rates through better matching
- Enables circular material flows
- Measurable Impact: Track recycling rates improvement (%)
-
Climate-Neutral Processes
- Reduces transportation through local matching
- Enables heat/energy sharing
- Measurable Impact: Track CO2 emissions reduced (tons)
-
Industrial Symbiosis
- Core focus of platform
- Enables cross-company circular solutions
- Measurable Impact: Track symbiosis matches created and environmental impact
Circular Economy Sub-programme Alignment ✅
- Waste Reduction: Core platform functionality
- Resource Efficiency: Matching engine optimization
- Recycling: Enhanced recycling through better matching
- Industrial Symbiosis: Primary focus of platform
- Climate-Neutral Processes: Transportation reduction, energy sharing
Clear Uptake Plan ✅
- Pilot Implementation: Initial deployment in Berlin (20 businesses)
- Scaling Phase: Expansion to 200-400 businesses
- Replication Strategy: Replication toolkit for other cities
- Stakeholder Engagement: Municipal partnerships, utility partnerships
- Dissemination: Knowledge sharing, best practices, replication support
Alignment with LIFE Programme Requirements
Circular Economy Sub-programme ✅
- Aligns with Circular Economy sub-programme objectives
- Waste reduction, resource efficiency, recycling, industrial symbiosis
- Climate-neutral processes
Tangible Environmental Benefits ✅
- Clear environmental impact metrics
- Measurable outcomes (waste reduction, emissions reduction, resource efficiency)
- Environmental impact assessment completed
Clear Uptake Plan ✅
- Pilot implementation strategy
- Replication toolkit development
- Stakeholder engagement plan
- Dissemination strategy
Strategic Nature Project (SNaP) ✅
- Potential for 95% co-funding rate
- Strategic nature of circular economy implementation
- Replication potential across EU member states
Grant Request Calculation
Total Project Cost: €1,815,000
Grant Request Options:
- Standard Rate (60%): €1,089,000
- Priority Area (75%): €1,361,250
- Strategic Nature Project (95%): €1,724,250
Own Contribution:
- At 60%: €726,000 (40%)
- At 75%: €453,750 (25%)
- At 95%: €90,750 (5%)
Grant Request Summary
- Grant Requested: €1,089,000 (standard 60%) or up to €1,724,250 (SNaP 95%)
- Total Project Cost: €1,815,000
- Duration: 18 months (Months 1-18)
- Deliverables: Full platform with environmental impact monitoring, replication toolkit
- Environmental Impact: Measurable waste reduction, resource efficiency, emissions reduction
- Replication Strategy: Toolkit for replication across EU member states
This budget aligns with LIFE Programme's Circular Economy sub-programme objectives and demonstrates tangible environmental benefits with clear uptake and replication plan for Strategic Nature Project status.