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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core Objective: To deepen understanding of the long-term impacts of virtual worlds on culture and to develop research-based measures that guide the realisation of opportunities while mitigating threats related to human wellbeing, European values, social cohesion, and cultural diversity.
Target Recipient Types: Researchers (including from SSH disciplines), policymakers, industry professionals, cultural heritage institutions, and cultural and creative industries.
Target Recipient Size: Not explicitly limited, but the broader program context encourages participation from SMEs and micro enterprises.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: This grant is highly sector-specific, focusing on Cultural Heritage, Cultural and Creative Industries, and the societal implications of Digital Technologies and Virtual Worlds.
Geographic Scope: Primarily focused on Europe, aiming for wide engagement across EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Key Filtering Criteria: Projects must focus on the evolution of culture in virtual and blended environments, conduct in-depth research, and propose actionable measures. Alignment with EU values and priorities (e.g., European Green Deal, New European Bauhaus) is crucial.
Grant Frequency and Program Context: This is a specific topic within the 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society' cluster of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025. Similar topics may recur in future annual work programmes.

Financial Structure

Funding Type: The grant takes the form of a lump sum contribution.
Total Topic Budget: The total budget allocated for topic 'HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-05' in 2025 is EUR 10,500,000.
Expected Number of Grants: 3 projects are expected to be funded under this topic.
Grant Amount per Project: Individual grants will range from a minimum contribution of EUR 2,500,000 to a maximum contribution of EUR 3,500,000.
Currency: All financial amounts are in EUR.
Eligible Costs (for lump sum calculation): Personnel costs (employees, contracted natural persons, seconded staff, SME owners), subcontracting, purchase costs (travel, subsistence, equipment, other goods/services), and other categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, research infrastructure access, PCP/PPI procurement, Euratom Cofund staff mobility, ERC additional funding).
Indirect Costs: A flat rate of 25% is applied to direct cost categories that qualify for indirect cost calculation under Horizon Europe rules, and this is included in the lump sum determination.
Funding Rate: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) typically receive a 100% funding rate of eligible costs, which is integrated into the lump sum calculation.
Payment Mechanism: Payments are tied to the proper implementation and completion of defined work packages. Payments are not dependent on actual costs incurred.
Financial Reporting/Audits: No obligation for beneficiaries to document costs incurred or undergo financial ex-post audits. Focus is on technical implementation and output delivery.
Mutual Insurance Mechanism: 5% to 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Grant Reduction: If work package conditions are not met, the corresponding lump sum contribution for that work package will not be paid, and the grant may be reduced.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Types

Eligible organization types include: cultural heritage institutions, research organizations (including those focusing on Social Sciences and Humanities - SSH), industry professionals (spanning cultural and creative industries), and public and private sector entities involved in culture and digital technologies. The program explicitly seeks 'public and private players'.

Geographic Location

Applicants from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe are generally eligible. These include:
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.
Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if specific provisions are made in their agreements with Horizon Europe.
Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions (IA) in any capacity. As this is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), this specific exclusion for China does not explicitly apply to this call based on the provided text.

Technical and Legal Requirements

Proposal Format: Part B of the Research and Innovation (RIA) application using lump sum has a page limit of 50 pages.
Budget Submission: It is mandatory to submit a detailed budget table using the template available in the Submission System.
Capacity Assessment: Applicants are subject to financial and operational capacity assessment as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Lump Sum Compliance: Projects must adhere to the rules for lump sum contributions as defined in the 'Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme'.
Software Licensing: All software developed must be 'open source', licensed either under a CC0 public domain dedication or under an open source license recommended by the Free Software Foundation or the Open Source Initiative.
Proprietary Libraries: If the use of fully open source software is disproportionately difficult, and suitable non-open source function libraries exist, these may be used, provided a full user license (free of charge for an unlimited period) is granted to the consortium responsible for the ECCCH and all its users.
Deliverable Compliance: All software and related deliverables must comply with the data model and software development guidelines elaborated by the project funded under topic 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
Concertation Activities: All funded projects must participate in concertation activities with the project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.

Application Process

Application Timeline and Deadlines

Submission Opening Date: 2025-05-15.
Application Deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+00.
Submission Procedure: Single-stage submission process.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application Form: Part B of the Research and Innovation (RIA) application form, with a page limit of 50 pages.
Detailed Budget Table: A mandatory detailed budget table must be submitted using the template provided in the Submission System.
Legal Entity and Financial Capacity Documents: Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment are required.
Grant Agreement: Proposals will be subject to a 'Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement' (Lump Sum MGA).

Application Procedure

Submission Platform: Applications must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Guidance Resources: Applicants should consult the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements, Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, and the 'Lump sums - what do I need to know?' guide.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Project Planning: Proposals must include a detailed breakdown of activities per work package and specify all related resources. The lump sum contribution must be broken down by work package and by beneficiary/affiliated entity.
Progress Tracking: Payments are released based on the proper completion of work packages, as stipulated in Annex 1 of the grant agreement. Failure to meet work package conditions will result in non-payment for that specific package.

Post-Award Requirements

Compliance: Adherence to the conditions outlined in the grant agreement, including ethics, research integrity, dissemination and exploitation of results, management of intellectual property, and gender equality.
Technical Focus: Post-award checks and reviews will primarily focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfilment of work package conditions.

Evaluation Criteria

Core Evaluation Dimensions

Proposals will be evaluated based on the standard Horizon Europe procedures, assessing:
Excellence: Quality of the proposed research and innovation activities.
Expected Impact: Potential of the project to contribute to the grant's objectives and broader societal goals.
Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Soundness of the work plan, proposed resources, and management.

Specific Scoring Factors (derived from 'Expected Outcome' and 'Scope')

Understanding of Virtual World Impacts: The extent to which the proposal demonstrates a deep understanding of the key long-term impacts of virtual worlds on culture, encompassing benefits and risks related to human wellbeing, European values, social cohesion, and cultural/linguistic diversity.
Development of Actionable Measures: The quality and feasibility of research and knowledge-based measures designed to guide development towards realizing opportunities and mitigating threats of virtualized life.
Leadership Contribution: Potential to contribute significantly towards establishing Europe as a global leader in virtual worlds that enhance wellbeing, social cohesion, and resilience, alongside competitiveness and growth.
Focus and Depth: While proposals are not expected to address all aspects of virtualisation, chosen focus areas must be analyzed with sufficient depth to create a solid knowledge base.
Building on Existing Knowledge: Proposals should, where appropriate, leverage and build upon existing knowledge, activities, and networks, particularly those funded by the European Union, and establish links to the future European Partnership on Virtual Worlds.
Alignment with EU Priorities: Demonstrated contribution to promoting the European way of life, achieving a Europe fit for the digital age, fulfilling European Green Deal goals, supporting an economy that works for people, and contributing to the New European Bauhaus initiative.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Contribution to relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Societal Impact: Clear articulation of how the project will foster a stronger, more participatory, and crisis-resilient society and economy.
Cultural Heritage and Creative Industries Potential: Realization of the full potential of cultural heritage, arts, and cultural and creative industries as drivers of sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging.
Financial Soundness (Lump Sum): Expert evaluators will scrutinize the proposed lump sum budget for each work package, ensuring it aligns with activities, resources, and relevant benchmarks (e.g., market prices, statistical data, historical data). Applicants must declare that their estimated budget follows their own accounting practices.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

General Conditions: Compliance with all general conditions outlined in Annex A, B, C, D, F, and G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial Regulations: Adherence to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046, which governs the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, particularly concerning lump sum contributions.

Intellectual Property (IP)

IPR Traceability: Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for digital objects stored in the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) and generated through ECCCH-based collaboration must be fully recorded and traceable.
IPR Guidelines: Appropriate IPR use guidelines, such as those from RightsStatements.org, should be employed.

Technical Standards and Openness

Software Licensing: All software developed must be open source. This means it must be licensed under a CC0 public domain dedication or an open source license recommended by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) or the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
Third-Party Libraries: If non-open source function libraries are necessary, a free user license for an unlimited period must be granted to the consortium and all users of the ECCCH.
Interoperability: Software and deliverables must comply with the data model and software development guidelines established by the project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
Data Principles: Data generated by actions should be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).
API: An open Application Programming Interface (API) is expected to allow for new functionality development and interoperability within the ECCCH.

Collaboration and Contextual Alignment

Concertation Activities: Participation in concertation activities with the project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01' is mandatory.
Ecosystem Integration: Projects should leverage existing European Research Infrastructures (federated under EOSC or listed in ESFRI) and relevant Data Spaces.
Governance Engagement: The ECCCH (European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage) should ensure engagement from a wide range of representatives from Member States, Associated Countries, and related EU initiatives.

Ethical and Societal Considerations

Human-Centric Approach: The initiative adopts a people-centred perspective, placing cultural heritage and creative industries at the heart of Europe's economy, competitiveness, and sustainability.
Values Alignment: Projects should align with EU values, contributing to the European way of life, readiness for the digital age, achievement of European Green Deal goals, and an economy that works for people.
New European Bauhaus: Contribution to this initiative is expected.
Social Cohesion and Resilience: Emphasis on fostering societal resilience through cultural heritage and promoting social cohesion.

Risk Management and Focus

Reduced Financial Burden: The lump sum model significantly reduces the administrative burden for beneficiaries related to cost reporting and financial ex-post audits, shifting the focus to technical performance and output delivery.
Verification: Granting authorities will verify technical implementation, including the fulfilment of work package conditions, and other aspects like ethics, dissemination, and IP management.

Grant Details