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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

To improve mental health outcomes for individuals across education, training, and work settings through the development and scaling of integrated, person-centred interventions. - Target recipient types: Research organizations, universities, social partners (trade unions, business organizations), civil society organizations, VET providers, and SMEs. - Organization size: No explicit size limits, but ability to manage large, complex projects is implied. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC - Geographic scope: EU Member States and Associated Countries. - Key filtering criteria: Focus on mental health outcomes, direct relevance to education, training, or work, and strong research/innovation capacity. - Grant frequency and program context: Part of the annual Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programme for 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society', under the multi-annual Horizon Europe framework (2021-2027).

Financial Structure

Funding type: Lump sum contribution.
Budget for the topic: 15,000,000 EUR.
Grant amount per project: Minimum 3,000,000 EUR, Maximum 5,000,000 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Funding rate: Reimbursement rates are included in the lump sum calculation. For Research and Innovation Actions, this typically covers 100% of the agreed eligible costs as defined by the lump sum.
Co-financing: The 'co-financing principle' applies, meaning the total estimated project costs should be greater than the Union contribution.
Eligible costs: Personnel costs (employees, contractors, seconded persons, SME owners), subcontracting, purchase costs (travel, equipment, goods, services), and other categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, research infrastructure access, procurement costs).
Ineligible costs: Costs explicitly defined as ineligible under general Horizon Europe rules.
Indirect costs: A 25% flat rate is applied to direct costs that qualify for indirect cost calculation.
Payment mechanism: Lump sum payments are tied to the proper implementation and completion of defined work packages, not actual incurred costs.
Financial guarantees: 5% to 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Financial reporting: No reporting of actual costs incurred; financial checks focus on technical implementation and work package completion.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type & Legal Status

Eligible: Research organizations, universities, social partners (trade unions, business organizations), civil society organizations, VET providers, and SMEs.
Legal entities must be established in EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Geographic Scope

Applicants must be from EU Member States or countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Countries 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.

Capacity & Experience

Demonstrated financial and operational capacity as per Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Track record in relevant research and innovation, particularly in mental health interventions and socio-economic transformations.
Ability to conduct effectiveness studies and generate health economics data.

Consortium Requirements

Consortium is not explicitly required but highly encouraged due to project complexity and scale. Collaborative actions are envisioned.

Exclusion Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe exclusion criteria as per Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Application Timeline

Call opening date: 2025-05-15
Submission deadline: 2025-09-16

Submission Process

Application is a single-stage process.
Submission platform: Electronic Submission Service via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Required Documentation

Part B of the Application Form: Maximum 50 pages for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) using a lump sum.
Detailed budget table: Mandatory, using the template available in the Submission System.
Proposal must show costs and categories covered by the lump sum and a breakdown per work package and beneficiary.

Project Implementation

Expected project duration: 4 years or more.
Implementation linked to work packages: Payments are contingent on proper implementation of work packages.
Reporting obligations: Focus on technical implementation and fulfilment of work package conditions. No detailed financial cost reporting required.

Post-Award Requirements

Grant agreements take the form of a 'lump sum model grant agreement'.
Controls and audits focus on technical delivery, ethics, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, intellectual property management, and gender equality.
Undue payments for uncompleted work packages may be recovered.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria

Proposals are evaluated based on three main criteria as per Annex D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes:
- Excellence: Quality of the research, innovation, and methodology.
- Impact: Potential to contribute to expected outcomes and impacts, including policy relevance and societal benefit.
- Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Soundness of the work plan, appropriateness of resources, and management structure.

Specific Scoring Factors

Innovation Requirements: Projects should build on and scale up existing innovative solutions for mental health.
Social Impact: Contribution to strengthening social and economic resilience, boosting inclusive growth, and reducing vulnerabilities, poverty, and inequalities. Alignment with European Pillar of Social Rights, European Education Area, Union of Equality policies, and EU's comprehensive approach to mental health.
Policy Relevance: Capacity to provide viable tools and evidence-based data for policymakers and practitioners.
Quality & Standards: Production of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) data.
Project Scale: Ability to deliver scalable and replicable integrated person-centred interventions, potentially spanning 4 years or more.
Cross-cutting Themes: Integration of inclusivity and diversity considerations, including gender equality, disability rights, and addressing vulnerable groups.
Resource Allocation: Detailed budget estimates per work package and per beneficiary are assessed for their appropriateness to achieve activities and outputs. Financial expertise will verify budget estimates against benchmarks.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Compliance with Regulation (EU) 2021/695 (Horizon Europe), Regulation (Euratom) 2021/765, and Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046.
Adherence to the European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882) and the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, where relevant.

Data & Technical Standards

Data produced must be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).
Proposals should leverage data and services from European Research Infrastructures and relevant Data Spaces where applicable.

Ethical & Societal Considerations

Ethical standards and research integrity are subject to checks.
Projects should consider and align with the Union of Equality policies and strategies (Gender Equality, Anti-racism, Roma Equality, LGBTIQ Equality, Disability Rights).

Intellectual Property (IP)

IP policies are governed by Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Unique Aspects & Expectations

Lump Sum Funding: Payments are based on the completion of work packages, not actual costs incurred, significantly simplifying financial administration for beneficiaries.
Strategic Focus: Projects are expected to contribute to strengthening social and economic resilience, boosting inclusive growth, and effectively reducing vulnerabilities.
Collaboration Encouraged: Clustering and cooperation with other funded projects are strongly encouraged. International cooperation is also encouraged.
Long-term Impact: Expected to deliver solid evidence for policy take-up and make long-term contributions to public health and socio-economic outcomes.

Grant Details