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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: To foster equity and justice in climate policies through a Societal Readiness Pilot, making climate policies more inclusive and effective for high ambition climate action.
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: Consortia of legal entities, particularly research teams, including partners from low or middle-income countries (LMICs).
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Global, with a specific focus on EU and Global South collaboration. Mandatory inclusion of entities from at least three different LMICs.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Projects must focus on climate policy, equity, justice, and societal readiness, requiring interdisciplinary research and international cooperation, especially with LMICs.
Grant frequency and program context: This is a recurring opportunity as part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2025, specifically under Cluster 5, and designated as a Societal Readiness Pilot.

Financial Structure

Funding takes the form of a lump sum contribution, authorized under the Decision of 7 July 2021.
Total budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-06): 15,000,000 EUR.
Minimum grant amount per project: 4,000,000 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 5,000,000 EUR.
Applicants propose the lump sum amount based on estimated direct and indirect costs.
Indirect costs are calculated by applying a flat rate of 25% to eligible direct costs.
Payments are based on the proper implementation and completion of work packages as described in the grant agreement's Annex 1.
Eligible cost categories that inform the lump sum calculation include: personnel, subcontracting, purchase costs (travel, equipment, goods/services), financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, transnational/virtual access to research infrastructure, and PCP/PPI procurement costs.
There is no obligation for beneficiaries to document actual costs incurred for the action; financial checks focus on technical implementation and fulfillment of work package conditions.
A contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism (between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum) is retained.
Co-financing principle applies: the total estimated costs of the action must be greater than the estimated Union contributions.
Reimbursement rates (standard Horizon Europe rates, typically 100% for Research and Innovation Actions) are included in the lump sum calculation.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Structure

Consortium required: Yes.
Must include as beneficiary or associated partner at least three independent legal entities established in three different low or middle-income countries (as per World Bank classification, GNI per capita up to $4,495 in 2024).
Legal entities must be established in countries eligible under Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (standard EU Member States and Associated Countries are generally eligible for funding).
Involvement of civil society is highly recommended.
Consortium should include SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) experts, particularly those specialized in equity, poverty, and gender.

Financial & Operational Capacity

Requirements are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes (standard Horizon Europe requirements apply).

Geographic Requirements

Projects must address justice and equity of climate policies both within the EU and from a global perspective, though prioritization of one dimension is allowed.
Research must be conducted through close collaboration between research teams from Europe and low or middle-income countries.
Mandatory participation of partners from at least three different low or middle-income countries in the consortium.

Technical & Experiential Requirements

Effective contribution of relevant SSH expertise is mandatory, including the direct involvement of SSH experts in the consortium.
Consortia must mobilize a variety of SSH research backgrounds.
Involvement of key stakeholders and regional experts is essential.

Application Process

Application Process Timeline

Submission session available from: 2025-05-06.
Application deadline: 2025-09-24.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement details are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission procedure: Single-stage.

Required Documentation & Materials

Proposal page limit: 52 pages (an extension of 2 pages from the standard 50, specifically for Societal Readiness topics).
Layout must adhere to the description in Part B of the Application Form.
Use the standard application form for 'HE RIA, IA' (Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions).
A detailed budget table specific for 'HE LS' (Horizon Europe Lump Sum) must be submitted.
Applicants are required to declare that their budget estimation followed their own accounting practices.

Submission Format & Platform

Applications must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission Service.
To access the submission system, click the submission-button corresponding to 'HORIZON-RIA' and 'HORIZON Lump Sum Grant'.

Support & Guidance

The Online Manual provides guidance on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
The Horizon Europe Programme Guide offers detailed guidance on structure, budget, and political priorities.
A Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ is available for common questions.
The Research Enquiry Service can answer questions on European research and EU Research Framework Programmes.
National Contact Points (NCPs) offer guidance and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe, including in non-EU/non-associated countries.
The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) provides advice to businesses, particularly SMEs, on EU research funding.
An IT Helpdesk is available for technical issues related to the Funding & Tenders Portal.
The European IPR Helpdesk assists with intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk provide advice on standardization in project proposals.
A Partner Search tool is available to help find partner organizations.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe evaluation criteria (Excellence, Impact, Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation) will be applied. Excellence

Comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of climate justice in EU and global mitigation/adaptation policies.
Promotion of awareness, consistency, and co-production approaches in research.
Consideration of socio-economic, territorial, and development disparities between and within countries/regions.
Addressing multiple dimensions of justice and diverse spatial/temporal scales (e.g., intergenerational justice).
Exploration of a broad range of social, political, economic, and cultural contexts and factors.
Development of recommendations for designing, implementing, and evaluating just climate transitions, including specific indicators, standards, and criteria.
Strengthening, diversification, and inclusivity of the evidence base underpinning IPCC assessments.
Better incorporation of social science perspectives on justice and equity into policy narratives, scenarios, and models.
Proposals should address aspects such as improving integrated assessment models for justice/equity, enhancing clarity/comparability of global mitigation scenarios, analyzing distributional aspects of climate policies, assessing trade-offs/co-benefits, investigating innovative climate policy instruments, and justice in sectoral transitions.

Impact

Climate policies are made more inclusive and equitable, facilitating acceptance across diverse stakeholders.
High ambition climate action is enabled, contributing to the European Green Deal's commitment to 'leave no one behind'.
Improved consensus between the Global North and Global South within the UNFCCC process.
Greater momentum is achieved in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Societal relevance of climate action strategies is improved, ensuring reflection of diverse societal needs and values.
Trust in results and outcomes is built, increasing their uptake potential.

Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

Quality of the proposed activities for each work package and the corresponding resources.
Appropriateness and soundness of the lump sum budget estimation, including checking by experts with financial know-how.
Effective contribution of SSH expertise and its meaningful support for Societal Readiness.
Design of project objectives that integrate Societal Readiness related activities.
Quality of collaboration between research teams from Europe and low/middle-income countries.
Demonstrated involvement of key stakeholders, regional experts, and civil society.
Clear plans for networking, intercomparison, and joint activities with other relevant projects (clustering activities).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Legal and financial set-up of grants must comply with Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Adherence to the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorizing the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme is mandatory.
Compliance with accounting rules under applicable national law is required from beneficiaries.
Ethical standards and research integrity are subject to verification.

Societal Readiness Pilot Specifics

This topic is explicitly designated as a Societal-Readiness pilot, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach.
Proposals must follow specific instructions for Societal Readiness pilots outlined in the Horizon Europe Main Work Programme 2025 for Climate, Energy and Mobility.
The project design must integrate and deepen consideration of societal needs and concerns within research and innovation activities.
Effective contribution from relevant SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) expertise is required, including involving SSH experts in the consortium to meaningfully support Societal Readiness.

Collaboration & Dissemination

Projects are strongly encouraged to connect, coordinate, and participate in networking, intercomparison, and joint activities to maximize synergies.
Applicants should plan for clustering activities with other relevant projects (both within and outside Horizon Europe) to foster cross-project cooperation and result exchange.
Necessary resources must be earmarked within the proposal for these collaborative activities.
Compliance with requirements regarding dissemination and exploitation of results, and intellectual property management, will be subject to checks.
Gender equality aspects are a cross-cutting consideration.

Risk Management & Auditing

While cost reporting is minimized with lump sums, checks, reviews, and audits will focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfillment of conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package.
If controls reveal that payment conditions for a work package were not met, the granting authority is entitled to recover undue payments.

Grant Details