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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Grant Purpose and Target

Clear Objective: To enhance education policy and practice across the European Union by funding research and evaluation projects that generate new insights, support evidence-based decision-making for policymakers and practitioners, and improve educational quality while closing learning outcome gaps.
Target Recipient Types: Research consortia, including universities, research centers, social partners (trade unions and business organizations), civil society organizations, practitioners, VET providers, and SMEs.
Grant Designation: SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Education, Social Sciences, Humanities, Public Policy).
Geographic Scope: EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Key Filtering Criteria: Proposals must focus on research and evaluation in education, demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration, and show clear relevance to informing policy and practice.
Grant Frequency & Context: This is a recurring opportunity under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, specifically within the 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society' cluster, under the 'Social and Economic Transformations' destination.

Financial Structure

Funding Type: Lump sum contribution. The grant amount is determined upfront based on estimated costs and agreed work packages.
Minimum Grant Amount: 3,400,000 EUR per project.
Maximum Grant Amount: 3,400,000 EUR per project.
Total Budget for this topic: 10,200,000 EUR for a total of 3 expected grants.
Currency: EUR.
Eligible Costs: Costs that would typically be eligible for an actual cost grant, including personnel costs (employees, seconded persons, SME owners), subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel, subsistence, equipment, other goods, works, services), and certain other specific cost categories (e.g., financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, research infrastructure access).
Indirect Costs: Calculated at a fixed 25% flat rate of eligible direct costs.
Co-financing: The principle of co-financing applies, meaning the total estimated costs of the action must be greater than the Union contribution, reflecting the applicable reimbursement rates.
Payment Mechanism: Payments for lump sum contributions are made per work package upon confirmation of its proper implementation and fulfillment of stated conditions. Pre-financing follows standard Horizon Europe rules.
Financial Safeguards: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Reporting: Beneficiaries are not required to report actual incurred costs. Financial checks and audits focus instead on the technical implementation and the fulfillment of conditions for work package payments.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility Requirements Organization Type & Structure

Eligible organization types: Universities, research centers, social partners (trade unions and business organizations), civil society organizations, practitioners, Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Consortium Requirement: Yes, the grant explicitly requires interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers (from social sciences, arts, and humanities) and essential involvement of authorities responsible for education and training policies, as well as practitioners.

Geographic Location

Eligible Countries: Organizations established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible for funding. (Specific list of Associated Countries not provided in the grant text but includes those listed for Horizon Europe).

Project Scope & Technical Expertise

Project Type: This grant is for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
Research Methodology: Proposals must use a mixed methods approach (including qualitative and quantitative methods). They can also include experimental designs (e.g., small, randomized control trials and quasi-experimental methods like difference-in-difference or discontinuity designs) and/or participatory research approaches.
Data Access: Close cooperation with authorities and/or other institutions owning relevant administrative data and survey data (e.g., surveys of children and young people) is essential and must be ensured.
Data Standards: Any data produced within the scope of the project must adhere to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).

Exclusions

Ineligible Costs: Only costs that would be eligible under a standard actual cost grant are allowed within the lump sum calculation. Costs deemed ineligible under the Horizon Europe rules are explicitly excluded.

Application Process

Application Practical Information Application Submission

Deadline: The application deadline is 2025-09-16 00:00:00+0000.
Submission Method: Applications must be submitted electronically via the dedicated Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Application Form & Materials: Applicants must complete the standard application form (Part B) and submit a detailed budget table using the template provided in the Submission System.
Page Limit: Part B of the application has a strict page limit of 50 pages for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) using the lump sum model.

Pre-Application Steps

Legal Entity Validation: Organizations must undergo a legal entity validation process.
LEAR Appointment: A Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) must be appointed for the organization.
Financial Capacity Assessment: An assessment of the organization's financial capacity may be required.

Support Available

Guidance: Applicants can access comprehensive guidance through the Online Manual, the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, and the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ.
Enquiry Services: Direct support is available via the Research Enquiry Service for general questions, and the IT Helpdesk for technical submission issues.
National Support: National Contact Points (NCPs) offer guidance and assistance within participating countries. The Enterprise Europe Network provides advice with a special focus on SMEs.
Intellectual Property: The European IPR Helpdesk offers assistance on intellectual property issues.
Standardization: CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk provide advice on incorporating standardization in proposals.
Partner Search: A partner search facility is available on the Funding & Tenders Portal to help find consortium partners.

Post-Award & Compliance

Grant Agreement: Successful applicants will sign a Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
Monitoring & Evaluation: Post-award monitoring, reviews, and audits will primarily focus on the technical implementation of the project, including the fulfillment of work package conditions, adherence to ethical standards, research integrity, effective dissemination and exploitation of results, proper management of intellectual property, and gender equality aspects.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria Standard Horizon Europe Criteria

Excellence: Assesses the quality of the proposed research, including the soundness of the methodology, scientific rigor, and the interdisciplinary approach taken by the research team.
Expected Impact: Evaluates the project's potential to contribute to the stated outcomes, such as generating new analysis of education policies, supporting the use of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) evidence by policymakers and practitioners, and fostering a stronger research and evaluation culture in education policymaking. This criterion also assesses alignment with EU policy objectives like the European Education Area targets, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the Union of Equality policies.
Quality and Efficiency of Implementation: Reviews the coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, the appropriateness of the resources allocated, the suitability of the management structure, and the overall quality of project management.

Financial Evaluation

Budget Estimate: Expert evaluators with financial expertise will rigorously check the proposed lump sum budget against relevant benchmarks (e.g., market prices, statistical data, historical data from comparable actions) to ensure it is a fair approximation of the actual eligible costs.
Resource Allocation: The evaluation will verify that the proposed resources and the breakdown of lump sum shares per work package are appropriate and sufficient to achieve the planned activities and expected outputs.

Cross-Cutting & Strategic Alignment

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Proposals are expected to enhance interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers from diverse educational research disciplines, including social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Stakeholder Engagement: The active and essential involvement of policymakers and practitioners who can bring different perspectives to the research topics is a key factor.
Data Use & Infrastructure: Leveraging data and services available through European Research Infrastructures (e.g., CESSDA) and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) where applicable, along with ensuring produced data is FAIR, is encouraged and contributes to evaluation.
Complementarity: Projects that demonstrate complementarity with other relevant Horizon projects (e.g., HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05) are encouraged.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Compliance and Special Requirements Funding Model Specifics

Lump Sum Funding: This grant utilizes a lump sum funding model, which significantly simplifies financial reporting by focusing on the technical completion of work packages rather than detailed cost accounting. There are no ex-post financial audits required on actual incurred costs.
Budgetary Flexibility: While the lump sum amount is fixed in the grant agreement, it is established based on a detailed budget estimate. Expert evaluators may recommend adjustments to this estimate, which would lead to a modification of the lump sum during the grant preparation phase.

Ethical & Research Integrity

Ethical Standards: All proposed activities and their implementation must strictly comply with high ethical standards throughout the project lifecycle.
Research Integrity: Adherence to principles of research integrity is mandatory.

Cross-Cutting Themes

Digital Agenda: Projects are expected to consider relevant aspects of the Digital Agenda, particularly concerning data management and digital tools.
Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH): Research in these fields is a core component and is expected to be integrated effectively.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Where applicable, projects should address AI considerations.
European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) & FAIR Data: Proposals are encouraged to leverage data and services available through the European Open Science Cloud. A strong emphasis is placed on ensuring that all data generated is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).

International Cooperation

International Collaboration: To maximize the impact of Research & Innovation (R&I), international cooperation is actively encouraged where relevant to the proposed topics.

Strategic Alignment

EU Policy Alignment: Projects must demonstrate clear alignment with key EU strategic objectives and policies, including but not limited to the European Pillar of Social Rights and its Action Plan, the European Education Area targets, the Union of Equality policies and strategies (e.g., related to disabilities, gender equality, anti-racism, Roma inclusion, LGBTIQ equality), the Communication on Demographic change in Europe, and the EU's just transition policy framework.
Stakeholder Engagement: A critical requirement is the engagement of a vast array of stakeholders beyond academia, including social partners, civil society organizations, practitioners, and VET providers, to ensure research is relevant and impactful for policy and practice.

Other Considerations

Complementarity: Applicants are encouraged to identify and foster complementarities with other relevant projects funded under previous Horizon calls (e.g., HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05).

Grant Details