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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core objective: To understand and enhance young people's civic knowledge, democratic citizenship attitudes, engagement in communities, and participation in civic life, and to assess the effectiveness of teaching methods for these aims.
Target recipient type and size: Research consortia involving educational institutions, public bodies, and civil society organizations. No specific size mentioned but consortia imply multiple entities.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Focuses on education, social sciences, and democracy.
Geographic scope: EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Key filtering criteria: Projects must address civic and citizenship education for young people (15-29), especially including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and considering gender. Consortia must involve specific types of organizations (education/public bodies capable of curriculum rollout/teacher training, and civil society organizations).
Grant frequency and program context: This is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) under the Horizon Europe 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society' Work Programme 2025, a recurring multi-annual funding program.

Financial Structure

Funding takes the form of a lump sum contribution.
Total budget for this topic (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-10) is EUR 10,500,000.0.
Expected number of grants: 3.
Minimum grant contribution per project: EUR 3,000,000.0.
Maximum grant contribution per project: EUR 3,500,000.0.
Currency: EUR.
Payment mechanism: Lump sum contributions are paid per work package upon proper implementation of conditions as defined in the grant agreement. Payments do not depend on actual costs incurred.
Co-financing: The total estimated costs of the action must be greater than the estimated Union contributions to comply with the co-financing principle.
Eligible costs (for calculating the lump sum proposal): Must be costs that would be eligible for an actual costs grant. This includes:
- Personnel costs (employees, contract workers, seconded persons, SME owners).
- Subcontracting costs.
- Purchase costs (travel/subsistence, equipment, other goods/works/services).
- Other cost categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, research infrastructure access, procurement costs).
Ineligible costs: Costs that are normally ineligible under Horizon Europe rules must be excluded from the lump sum calculation.
Indirect costs: A 25% flat rate for indirect costs is included in the calculation of the lump sum contribution.
Financial guarantees: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Financial reporting: No report of actual costs is required by the granting authority for lump sum grants.
Audit requirements: Financial checks and ex-post audits are minimised. Controls focus on technical implementation and fulfilment of work package conditions.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Types

Eligible organizations include:
- Secondary or higher education establishments (e.g., universities, schools).
- Public bodies with the capacity to roll out curricula or in charge of teacher education and training.
- Civil society organizations (e.g., youth clubs, sports clubs, community projects, arts and culture organizations).

Consortium Requirements

Mandatory consortium: Proposals must include, as beneficiaries or affiliated entities, at least one secondary/higher education establishment or public body (with capacity for curricula/teacher training) AND at least one civil society organization.
Testing and innovation work packages should be led or co-led by public authorities with curriculum authority, education/training institutions, and/or educators in formal and non-formal learning.

Geographic Requirements

Eligible countries are as described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This generally includes:
- All EU Member States: AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE.
- Countries associated with Horizon Europe (specific list is in Annex B, but typically includes countries like IS, NO, UK, TR, RS, MK, AL, BA, ME, MD, UA, GE, IL, FO, CH).
- Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if they have specific funding provisions (refer to Horizon Europe Programme Guide).

Project Specifics

Research must cover young people aged 15 to 29.
Research should primarily focus on formal education settings, but can also examine non-formal settings (with added value due to interplay).
Proposals must address both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged youth, considering gender-specific barriers and opportunities.

Application Process

Application Deadlines and Submission

Application deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+0000.
Submission type: Single-stage application procedure.
Submission system: Applications must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission Service.

Required Documentation

Application Form Part B: Must adhere to a page limit of 50 pages for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) using lump sum funding.
Detailed Budget Table: Mandatory submission using the template available in the Submission System. Applicants must propose the lump sum amount based on estimated direct and indirect costs, broken down by work package and per beneficiary/affiliated entity.

Review Process

Proposals will be evaluated according to standard Horizon Europe procedures by independent external experts.
Experts will assess excellence, expected impact, and quality/efficiency of implementation.
Experts with financial expertise will check the budget estimate based on benchmarks and assess if resources align with activities and outputs.

Post-Award Requirements

Grant duration: Not explicitly stated, but lump sum payments are tied to the completion of work packages.
Reporting: Progress reporting will be linked to the completion of work packages. Payments are contingent on conditions for each work package being met.
Compliance: Beneficiaries remain subject to national accounting rules. Checks and audits will focus on technical implementation, ethics, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, intellectual property management, and gender equality.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe Criteria

Proposals are evaluated based on standard Horizon Europe procedures, including:
- Excellence: Quality of research, innovation, and methodology.
- Impact: Potential to contribute to expected outcomes and wider societal impact.
- Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Soundness of the work plan, proposed resources, and management.

Specific Scoring Factors

Contribution to Expected Outcomes:
- Improved understanding by policymakers, education/training institutions, and educators of impactful learning, teaching, and assessment in citizenship education (underpinned by SSH research).
- Better understanding of the impact of citizenship education on young people's (15-29) civic and democratic engagement, including from disadvantaged backgrounds and gender aspects.
- Sound understanding of effective collaborative mechanisms between formal and non-formal education actors in delivering citizenship education.
- Increased awareness and ability to roll out competence-based, transformational (critical thinking), and action-oriented (active civic engagement) pedagogical approaches, including innovative methodologies.
Methodology and Innovation:
- Design, piloting, and testing of innovative methodologies in formal, or formal and non-formal learning (e.g., pedagogical approaches for critical engagement, civic learning opportunities, open classroom climate, student co-creation).
- Use of mixed methods approaches, combining qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., small, randomized control trials).
- Development of digital gamified pedagogical tools.
- Piloting innovative methodologies, not just testing existing ones.
- Inclusion of young people in the design of innovative methodologies.
Impact and Dissemination:
- Production of step-by-step explanations for education/training institutions, educators, and authorities to roll out innovative methodologies.
- Development of guidelines on methodology, content, teacher training, and a toolbox of pedagogical materials and assessment tools.
- Examination of educational tools for constructive participation, understanding diversity, and peaceful conflict resolution.
- Study of potential failures of existing models leading to low engagement or polarization.
- Development of strategies, methods, innovative solutions, and policy recommendations.
Collaboration and Synergy:
- Active engagement of civil society organizations as partners.
- Close involvement of education bodies and practitioners, particularly those supported by other EU programs (Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps, CERV, Global Europe).
- Establishment of connections, synergies, and building on previous Horizon Europe projects.
Financial Evaluation:
- Experts will check the budget estimate based on benchmarks to ensure resources and lump sum shares align with activities and outputs.
- Verification that proposals include declarations of using own accounting practices for budget preparation.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Proposals must adhere to general conditions outlined in Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (Annex A, B, C, D, F, G).
Compliance with the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under Horizon Europe.
Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

Data Protection and Standards

Data produced in the context of the project should be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).
Leveraging data and services from European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud is encouraged.

Ethical Standards

Compliance with ethical standards and research integrity is subject to checks, reviews, and audits.
Consider the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their recruitment.

Intellectual Property

Management of intellectual property is subject to checks, reviews, and audits.

Special Considerations and Unique Aspects

Lump Sum Funding: This grant uses a lump sum financing model, which simplifies financial reporting as payments are linked to the completion of defined work packages rather than actual incurred costs. However, applicants must provide a detailed estimated budget broken down by work package and beneficiary.
Focus on Youth: Projects must target young people aged 15-29, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and consider gender aspects of engagement.
Interdisciplinary Approach: Strong emphasis on Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) research.
Stakeholder Involvement: Encourages involvement of community organizations, policymakers, and civil society representatives to ensure research relevance and uptake.
Pilot and Test: Proposals are expected to design, pilot, and test innovative methodologies, not just existing ones.
Practical Outputs: Projects should produce practical outputs like step-by-step explanations, guidelines, toolboxes of pedagogical materials, and assessment tools for educators and authorities.
Risk Management: While financial audits are minimized, there is a strong focus on verifying the technical implementation and completion of work packages. Non-completion of work packages can lead to non-payment or recovery of undue payments.
International Cooperation: Encouraged where relevant to maximize impact.

Grant Details