Grants8 | The most comprehensive grants search on the web

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Grant Purpose and Target

Core objective: Research to provide consolidated concepts, workable definitions, and a robust evidence base for policymaking regarding 'open strategic autonomy', 'economic security', and 'research security' in EU foreign policy.
Explicit identification of target recipient type: This grant targets a broad range of organizations involved in research and policy, including research organizations, universities, public bodies, private corporates, industry federations, media organizations, non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations.
SECTOR-AGNOSTIC
Geographic scope: Organisations from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe are eligible for funding. Wider international cooperation is encouraged, but funding is typically restricted to these eligible countries.
Key filtering criteria: Proposals should focus on producing new knowledge and policy recommendations related to EU's strategic autonomy and security in a geopolitical context, with a strong emphasis on social sciences and humanities (SSH) research and stakeholder involvement.
Grant frequency: This is a specific topic within the Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme, indicating a single-stage call for this particular funding opportunity.

Financial Structure

Funding type: Lump sum contribution, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under Horizon Europe.
Currency: EUR.
Total budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-04): 7,000,000.0 EUR for 2025.
Expected number of grants awarded under this topic: 2.
Minimum grant amount per project: 3,000,000.0 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 3,500,000.0 EUR.
Funding rate: Reimbursement rates are included in the calculation of the lump sum; effectively, 100.0% of the agreed lump sum will be paid upon proper implementation and completion of work packages.
Eligible costs: Proposals should estimate direct and indirect project costs, including: personnel costs, subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel and subsistence, equipment, other goods/works/services), and other cost categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, transnational/virtual access to research infrastructure, PCP/PPI procurement, Euratom Cofund staff mobility, ERC additional funding).
Indirect costs: Calculated by applying a flat rate of 25% to the direct cost categories that qualify under Horizon Europe rules.
Ineligible costs: Costs that are deemed ineligible under general Horizon Europe rules must be excluded from the lump sum calculation.
Co-financing: The total estimated costs of the action must be greater than the estimated Union contributions, ensuring compliance with the co-financing principle.
Payment schedule: Lump sum contributions are paid per work package upon their proper implementation and completion. Payments do not depend on costs actually incurred.
Financial reporting and audit: No obligation to report actual costs. Financial ex-post audits are minimized. Checks and audits primarily focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfilment of conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package.
Financial guarantees: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type & Legal Status

Eligible for 'Research and Innovation Actions' (RIA) as defined by Horizon Europe.
Open to a wide range of organizations, including:
- 'UNIVERSITY' and other educational research bodies
- 'PUBLIC' bodies
- 'NGO's and civil society organizations
- 'ENTERPRISE' (private corporates, industry federations)
Must comply with financial and operational capacity requirements as described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Must be a legally validated entity under EU rules.

Geographic Location

Organisations established in EU Member States are automatically eligible for funding.
Organisations established in countries associated with Horizon Europe are also eligible for funding.
Provisions exist for funding participants from certain non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide; eligibility for funding must be explicitly confirmed for such countries.

Project Type

Proposals must be for 'Research and Innovation Actions' (RIA), focusing on generating new knowledge and developing new solutions.

Financial & Administrative

Funding is provided as a lump sum, requiring adherence to specific financial rules for lump sum contributions.
Consortium is required: Projects are expected to involve a wide range of stakeholders and societal actors, strongly implying a multi-partner consortium approach.

Application Process

Application Submission

Submission opening date: 2025-05-15.
Submission deadline: 2025-09-16T00:00:00+0000.
Submission format: Online via the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System.
Application form: A specific application form for this call is available in the Submission System. Part B of the 'Research and Innovation Action' (RIA) application, using the lump sum model, has a 50-page limit.
Required documentation: It is mandatory to submit a detailed budget table using the template available in the Submission System.
Pre-application requirements: Applicants need an EU Login account or can use one of the supported third-party sign-in options to access the Submission Service.

Evaluation Process

Evaluation type: Single-stage submission and evaluation process.
Evaluation criteria: Proposals will be evaluated based on 'Excellence', 'Expected Impact', and 'Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation'.
Review process: External independent experts will assess proposals, including financial experts who will check the budget estimate against benchmarks and resources.

Grant Agreement & Implementation

Grant type: 'HORIZON Lump Sum Grant' (MGA).
Grant agreement: The final lump sum contribution will be included in the grant agreement as the maximum grant amount.
Payments: Payments are linked directly to the proper implementation of work packages as defined in Annex 1 of the grant agreement.
Progress tracking: Monitoring and evaluation will focus primarily on the technical implementation of the action.
Post-award requirements: Compliance with aspects such as ethics, research integrity, dissemination and exploitation of results, management of intellectual property, and gender equality are subject to checks, reviews, or audits.

Evaluation Criteria

Excellence

Quality of research, methodologies, and scientific soundness, including the development of clear concepts and theoretical frameworks.
Appropriateness of the proposed research activities to achieve the expected outcomes.
Demonstrated understanding of existing research, with proposals encouraged to build on past EU-funded projects and seek cooperation with ongoing ones.

Impact

Contribution to reinvigorating democratic governance by improving accountability, transparency, effectiveness, and trustworthiness of institutions.
Expansion of active and inclusive citizens' participation and engagement.
Development of a robust evidence base for effective, relevant, and sensitive policies that bolster the resilience of democratic systems and protect them from threats.
Generation of new knowledge, strategies, methods, innovative solutions, and policy recommendations, particularly across 'GLOBAL CHALLENGES', 'RESILIENT DEMOCRACIES', and 'AGILE INSTITUTIONS & INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES'.
Consideration and integration of ethical and gender-responsive approaches to foreign policy.
Expected engagement of a wide range of stakeholders and societal actors, including public bodies, policymakers, private corporates, industry federations, media organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations, and educational research bodies.
Leveraging and contributing to European Research Infrastructures, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and relevant Data Spaces.
Commitment to ensuring that data produced is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).
Encouragement of international cooperation where relevant to maximize impact.

Quality and Efficiency of Implementation

Soundness of the proposed methodology and work plan, including the use of participative methodologies and experimental methods.
Appropriateness of resources (personnel, equipment, etc.) and their distribution among beneficiaries and work packages.
Coherence and effectiveness of the overall work package structure and project management.
Competence and expertise of the project team, ensuring necessary financial know-how for lump sum budget assessment.
Adequacy and justification of the detailed budget estimate against relevant benchmarks and historical data.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Admissibility conditions: Proposals must adhere to the page limits and layout specifications described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible countries: Compliance with the eligible country rules as outlined in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes is required.
Other eligible conditions: Must meet additional conditions specified in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Applicants must meet the criteria detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Grants will be structured as lump sums, authorized by the Decision of 7 July 2021, and in accordance with Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Data & IP Management

Data quality: Particular efforts must be made to ensure that data produced in the context of this topic is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).
Intellectual property: Projects must comply with the intellectual property policies outlined in the Model Grant Agreements for Horizon Europe.

Ethical & Social Considerations

Ethical standards: Proposals are encouraged to consider ethical and gender-responsive approaches to foreign policy and the design of open strategic autonomy.
Research integrity: Compliance with research integrity standards is expected.
Inclusion: The grant encourages inclusivity, including gender equality and the protection of minority rights, and the involvement of a wide range of societal actors.

Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing

Building on past research: Proposals should build on results from past EU-funded projects (e.g., Horizon 2020) and actively seek cooperation with ongoing relevant projects.
Clustering: Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged to maximize impact.
Research infrastructure leverage: Where applicable, proposals should leverage data and services available through EU-funded European Research Infrastructures, especially in the social sciences and humanities, and from the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and relevant Data Spaces.

Risk Management

Risk assessment: Analysis of the threat landscape related to open strategic autonomy and economic security, including research security, is expected.
Policy analysis: Assessment of the proportionality and effectiveness, as well as costs and benefits, of policies aiming at strategic autonomy, considering their implications for various actors and potential for protectionism.

Grant Details