1. Circular Services and Solutions Extending the Lifetime of Applied Textile
1.1 Call Purpose and Justification
This call supports the development of a Proof-of-Concept Circular Economy System (PoC CE System) for extending the lifetime of applied textiles. A PoC CE System is a real-world circular solution that integrates technical, business, behavioral, and policy elements into a scalable model — showing how circularity can work across an entire value chain.
It addresses major barriers to circularity in sectors where textiles are used intensively and disposed of prematurely — such as healthcare, hospitality, transport, and public institutions. The call is anchored in the TRACE Roadmap 2025 and aims to reduce textile waste through the design, implementation, and documentation of scalable service-based circular solutions.
Applicants are invited to develop and test circular service models — including repair, refurbishment, reuse, and rental — as part of a PoC CE System that enables economically viable lifetime extension of textiles. Projects should integrate data collection, stakeholder collaboration, and impact measurement, supporting structural change in procurement, logistics, and user practices.
The call aligns with key policy initiatives such as the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, Denmark’s targets for public sector circular procurement, and broader goals to reduce virgin material use.
TRACE will fund 4–6 strategically coordinated projects that:
- Establish one scalable PoC CE System for circular textile services in applied sectors
- Document impact using the TRACE CRL metric and aligned KPIs for durability, reuse, and lifecycle value
- Contribute data and learnings to the TRACE Data Space and TRACE Academy
- Support new procurement and ownership models that extend textile product lifetimes
This call is part of the Textiles Work Stream Focus Area (WSFA), which consolidates projects that collectively tackle structural barriers to textile circularity. Projects must be designed to:
- Deliver targeted circular solutions (e.g. repair infrastructure, product-service systems, reuse logistics)
- Participate in coordinated learning, data sharing, and implementation efforts
- Align with shared impact and learning goals via Work Package 1
Each WSFA aims to assemble a PoC CE System that demonstrates a viable circular value chain. For this call, TRACE envisions a PoC CE System for circular textile services that reduces waste and increases product longevity by embedding service-based circular models into institutional flows. It integrates:
- Repair, reuse, and refurbishment as standard practices
- Business models that reward extended textile use
- Shared logistics and quality assurance infrastructure
- Alignment with circular procurement and design-for-durability principles
This framing is illustrative — projects are encouraged to address other high-impact leverage points in the value chain. Together, the projects will form a system-level demonstration capable of informing regulation, scaling solutions, and attracting investment.
Understanding user behavior, institutional dynamics, and business incentives is essential to making circular systems work in practice. Projects are encouraged to integrate perspectives from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) — including behavioral research, economics, public policy, and design — to support the development, adoption, and scaling of effective circular business models.
An illustrative overview of TRACE’s Project Organization for the call
The details and requirements of the mandatory work package 1
1.2 Strategic Alignment: North Star, Tipping point, Learning Question and Milestones
TRACE’s North Star is a regenerative circular society by 2050 — where we have moved beyond the linear economy, resources circulate in closed loops, waste is eliminated, and natural systems are restored. This transformation supports Denmark’s goals of a 70% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050, and requires systemic innovation, deep collaboration, and a fundamental redesign of how we produce and consume.
To accelerate this transition, TRACE builds scalable circular systems, connects actors across value chains, and generates actionable knowledge that enables systemic change — from pilots to policy, and from insight to infrastructure.
Tipping Points, Learning Questions, and Milestones
As set out in the TRACE Impact Framework Version One, each WSFA is guided by a tipping point, a learning question, and a set of preliminary milestones.
- Tipping points are major systemic shifts in markets, behaviors, or infrastructure that bring us closer to the North Star.
- Learning questions define what we need to understand in order to reach the tipping point.
- Preliminary milestones provide directional guidance on what progress might look like across the WSFA — they are not fixed deliverables, but shared reference points for learning-based collaboration.
This call addresses Tipping Point 2:
Tipping Point 2: Transparent – Circular Business Models Become a Viable Choice
A tipping point is reached when circular economy business models are no longer seen as experimental, but as viable, desirable, and feasible across sectors. Transparency, trusted data, and aligned incentives make circularity the obvious choice.
TRACE Learning Question for Tipping Point 2:
How can we create the conditions for circular business models to become the preferred option across sectors?
Supportive questions include:
- What types of data and performance indicators build trust in circular business models?
- What barriers prevent adoption — and how can transparency reduce these?
- How do we align policy, market incentives, and consumer understanding?
- What makes a PoC CE System transferable and convincing?
Preliminary TRACE Milestones (for reference)
Applicants must relate their own project milestones to these directional milestones for the WSFA:
- By 2029: One scalable PoC CE system targeting plastics in the food industry
- By 2030: Contributes to 55% non-virgin material use.
- By 2050: Full circularity in select food segments.
Final milestones will be refined post-award, in dialogue with the TRACE Secretariat and Board, to ensure strategic fit and scientific rigor.
What Applicants Must Do
To align with this strategic logic, applicants must:
- Identify the tipping point and learning question their project addresses
- Explain how their project will generate knowledge relevant to that learning question
- Propose project-specific milestones that are:
- Forward-looking and aligned with the learning logic
- Within the project’s sphere of influence
- Based on learning outcomes, not just activity outputs
- Measurable (qualitatively or quantitatively) and time-bound
- Clearly related to TRACE’s preliminary milestones
This requirement is defined in:
- TRACE Impact Framework Version One
- Assessment Criteria → LINK: Assessment Criteria_A Path to Resilience_2025.docx
2. Who can apply?
Any legal entity (public or private), based in Denmark or abroad, may apply as a project partner.
The lead applicant must have a Danish CVR number.
To be considered, a project should consist of partners that are active participants in both the design of the project, the realization of the project, and the active implementation of the results from the project.
Upon final grant agreement, any new organization to TRACE will join the TRACE association as a non-paying member.
What can be applied for?
The investment covers a maximum of 75% of the total project cost. Examples include co-financing of salaries and other expenses directly linked to project implementation. For further information see “TRACE Guidelines”, section 6.
Additional Budget Notes
- PhD students may be included in the budget for time spent directly on project activities that contribute to milestones. Full PhD funding is not provided. Activities that build capacity may be eligible if directly supporting the project’s objectives.
- Projects must not rely on future funding to be successful. All key activities and outcomes should be feasible within the granted project period.
These funding conditions are equivalent to Innovation Fund Denmark’s Grand Solutions model, and TRACE reserves the right to adjust project scopes or budgets during negotiations to ensure strategic fit and complementarity across the WSFA portfolio
3. Requirements for the Project and the Project Investigator (PI)
All projects must designate a Principal Investigator (PI) and meet the following requirements:
Participate in Work Package 1 (WP1) — including learning, data, and implementation activities. Each project must allocate 2% of its TRACE funding to WP1. For more detail see “Work Package 1 – TRACE Collaborative Platform”, in section 6.
WP1 contributions include:
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- Shared impact data and use of the TRACE CRL metric (TRACE Data Space)
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- Participation in capacity-building and cross-project learning (TRACE Academy)
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- Communication and outreach activities (TRACE Communication)
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- Integration and reporting, led by the Project Implementation Lead (PIL)
- Align with the relevant tipping point(s), learning question and milestones for the call
- Build on infrastructure and learning from previous TRACE Pools (1–4)
- Share relevant data with the TRACE Secretariat (IPR remains with the consortium unless otherwise agreed)
- Ensure a project duration of at least 12 months, ending no later than June 1, 2028
TRACE projects are funded under conditions equivalent to Innovation Fund Denmark’s Grand Solutions model. TRACE reserves the right to request adjustments to project scope or budget during negotiation to ensure strategic fit and complementarity across the WSFA portfolio.
4. Assessment Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Strategic fit and relevance to the TRACE Partnership's objectives as described in the TRACE roadmaps
- Quality of the Idea (Quality of the Research and Innovation)
- Impact (Value Creation During and After the Project)
- Quality of Execution (Efficiency in the Project Execution and the Implementation of Results)
All criteria are included in the assessment and contribute to the overall assessment. The assessment provided by each evaluator is the reasoned opinion of the evaluator and is not a simple weighted sum of the ratings on the criteria. A strong project cannot have a low rating on Assessment Criterion 1 - “Strategic fit and relevance to the TRACE Partnership's objectives as described in the TRACE roadmaps”
5. Evaluation Process
Application Template will be uploaded in August.
Administrative Review
Before external review, TRACE will check that all applications meet the formal requirements described in the call text. Incomplete or non-compliant applications will be rejected without further evaluation.
The evaluation process is described in detail in “Process for Evaluation and Investment“ - see section 6.
External and Internal Evaluation
- Criterion 1: Strategic Fit is assessed by TRACE-appointed evaluators. This includes alignment with the TRACE Roadmap (RM 2021) (RM2025), Impact Framework, tipping point, and learning logic.
- Criteria 2–4: Quality of the Idea, Impact, and Quality of Execution are assessed by external international experts.
Applicant Consultation
Applicants will receive the external expert evaluations and will be invited to submit a written response addressing Criteria 2–4 before the final funding decision.
Final Decision
The TRACE Secretariat integrates evaluation results and applicant responses and submits recommendations to the TRACE Board of Directors.
Final funding decisions will:
- Prioritize alignment with TRACE’s strategic goals
- Ensure a balanced project portfolio across value chains and topics
- Be subject to compliance review by Innovation Fund Denmark
TRACE may adjust the project scope or budget during contract negotiation to ensure alignment with strategic goals and complementarity across funded activities.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome via email. Rejection letters will include reference to the relevant assessment criteria.
Objections
Objections to the submission or evaluation process may be sent to Innovation Fund Denmark:
📧 kontakt@innofond.dk
These will be considered as part of IFD’s oversight of the Investment Agreement with TRACE.
6. Application Content, Guidance and Documents
Proposals must include the following:
Application and Budget (mandatory)
- Application Template will be uploaded in August
Mandatory appendices
Optional appendices
Additional guidance documents:
- Initial Roadmap
- TRACE Roadmap 2025
- TRACE Impact Framework Version One
- TRACE Project Organization Pool 4&5
- Assessment Criteria
- Process for Evaluation and Investment
- TRACE Guidelines for InnoMission Partnerships
- TRACE Partnership list
- TRACE Project Agreement - Template
Join TRACE’s Co-creation Workshop
August 27, 2025, at Spinderihallerne, Vejle
TRACE invites researchers, companies, NGOs, municipalities, and other stakeholders to a full-day co-creation workshop. The session will help potential applicants:
- Understand TRACE’s project architecture and impact framework
- Explore consortium opportunities
- Align project ideas with tipping points and learning goals.
7. Contact
For inquiries related to this call, please contact:
- Arvid Aagaard Sihm, Head of Strategy and Funding (aas@trace.dk | +45 2986 3638)
- Anette Juhl, Director (aj@trace.dk | +45 2160 4041)
8. Disclaimer
The details of this call text—including titles, scope, and eligibility criteria—are provisional and subject to final confirmation upon signing the Investment Agreement (IA) with Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD). TRACE may modify or withdraw the call text if the final IA requires adjustments or if any new requirements arise from IFD. Any significant changes to the scope or wording of these calls will be communicated as soon as possible. It is expected that the agreement between TRACE and IFD will be signed after the summer break.