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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to improve fairness in the economy by enhancing the understanding of undeclared and underdeclared work. It seeks to provide actionable insights for policymakers to reduce such practices and their adverse social consequences. - Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: This grant targets a broad range of organizations including research organizations, universities, SMEs, social partners (trade unions, business organizations), civil society organizations, practitioners, and VET providers. - MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing on socio-economic transformations, labor markets, governance, and social sciences and humanities research. - Geographic scope and any location requirements: Applicants must be from eligible countries as described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (typically EU Member States and Associated Countries). Research activities should comprise a group of economies with heterogeneous prevalence of undeclared/underdeclared work. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Proposals must focus on multidisciplinary SSH research into the causes, scope, volume, and characteristics of undeclared/underdeclared work and policy assessment. Projects should offer policy-relevant outcomes and consider the impact of disruptive technologies. - Grant frequency and program context: This is a single-stage call within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, specifically under the 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society' cluster, indicating a recurring program structure.

Financial Structure

Funding for this grant will be provided in the form of a lump sum contribution.
The total budget allocated for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-05) for 2025 is €10,200,000.
Each individual grant awarded under this topic is expected to receive €3,400,000.
The expected number of grants to be awarded for this topic is 3.
Eligible costs covered by the lump sum include: Personnel costs, Subcontracting costs, Purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods, works and services), and Other cost categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods and services, research infrastructure access, procurement costs).
Indirect costs will be calculated by applying a 25% flat rate to the direct cost categories that qualify under Horizon Europe rules.
Payments are tied to the proper implementation and completion of work packages as defined in the grant agreement, rather than the actual costs incurred by beneficiaries.
A portion (between 5% and 8%) of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
The co-financing principle is maintained, meaning the total estimated costs of the action must generally be greater than the estimated Union contribution.
Financial guarantees: Not explicitly mentioned, but subject to standard Horizon Europe rules as per Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes on financial capacity.

Eligibility Requirements

General Eligibility

Organizations must meet the admissibility conditions regarding proposal page limit and layout as described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Applicants must be from eligible countries as specified in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity of applicants will be assessed as per Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal Entity Validation and LEAR Appointment are required.

Organizational Types

Eligible organization types include, but are not limited to: universities, research centers, social partners (e.g., trade unions, business organizations), civil society organizations, practitioners, VET (Vocational Education and Training) providers, and SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).

Project Requirements

The project must be classified as a 'Research and Innovation Action' (RIA).
Projects should contribute to advancing research on the scope, volume, and/or characteristics of undeclared/underdeclared work and/or the evasion of compulsory payments linked to workers' remuneration.
Research activities must incorporate a strong multidisciplinary aspect rooted in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH).
The geographical focus of the research activities should include a group of economies that exhibit varied prevalence of undeclared/underdeclared work.
Consortium required: While not explicitly stated as 'required', the grant context strongly implies a consortium is expected, as it mentions 'bringing together the right mix of actors' and 'vast array of stakeholders' for collaborative research and multi-beneficiary projects.

Application Process

Application Deadlines and Submission

Application deadline: 2025-09-16.
Submission session opened: 2025-05-15.
Application procedure: This is a single-stage submission process.
Submission platform: Proposals must be submitted online via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission Service.

Required Documentation and Materials

Part B of the Application Form: Required for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), with a page limit of 50 pages.
Detailed budget table: A mandatory submission using the template available in the Submission System.
Application forms specific to this call are available in the Submission System.

Support and Guidance

Applicants can access comprehensive guidance through the Horizon Europe Programme Guide and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual.
Call-specific instructions and a 'Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement' are provided.
A specific guidance document titled 'Lump sums - what do I need to know?' is available.
Assistance is available from National Contact Points (NCPs) for general guidance, Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) for SMEs, IT Helpdesk for technical issues, and the European IPR Helpdesk for intellectual property matters.
Collaboration and partner search assistance is available through the portal's partner search functionality.

Implementation and Reporting

Projects are categorized as Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
Implementation timeline expectations: Not explicitly detailed in the provided documents, but governed by standard Horizon Europe grant agreements for RIA projects.
Progress tracking: Monitoring and evaluation will focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfilment of conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package. There are normally no financial checks or audits on incurred costs.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be assessed based on three core criteria: Excellence, Expected Impact, and Quality and efficiency of the implementation.

Specific Criteria for Lump Sum Grants

Financial expertise will be used to check the budget estimate against relevant benchmarks, such as market prices, statistical data, or historical data from comparable actions.
Assessment of whether the proposed resources and the breakdown of lump sum shares are sufficient to achieve the described activities and expected outputs.
Verification that beneficiaries have prepared their estimated budget following their own accounting practices.

Project-Specific Criteria (Implied)

The extent to which the project contributes to understanding the causes and main structural drivers behind engagement in undeclared/underdeclared work and related payment evasion.
The quality and evidence-base of the assessment of policies aimed at tackling undeclared/underdeclared work.
Consideration of the impact of disruptive technologies (e.g., digital platforms, AI) on the prevalence and changing features of undeclared/underdeclared work.
Inclusion of insights from behavioral research into drivers of undeclared/underdeclared work.
Examination of gender and social stratification variations (e.g., occupational segregation, motives, working time patterns) within the context of undeclared work.
The potential for establishing a more systematic link between undeclared/underdeclared work and taxation/social security systems.
Proposed methods for addressing social desirability bias in public surveys, experiments, and/or counterfactual analysis for measuring policy impact.
Exploration of mechanisms for efficient cooperation among national authorities and opportunities for machine learning in tackling undeclared work.

Impact Criteria

Contribution to strengthening social and economic resilience and sustainability.
Boosting inclusive growth and effectively reducing vulnerabilities.
Providing actionable policy advice to mitigate negative consequences and harness opportunities from macro drivers of change.
Alignment with and contribution to EU priorities such as the European Pillar of Social Rights, European Education Area, Union of Equality policies (disability, gender, anti-racism, Roma, LGBTIQ+), Just Transition policy framework, and mental health initiatives.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Financial and Budgetary Compliance

Lump sum contributions must be a close approximation of the beneficiaries' underlying actual costs, adhering to eligible cost categories under Horizon Europe rules.
Applicants must declare that they have followed their own accounting practices for budget preparation.

Data Management and Open Science

Data produced in the context of this research must adhere to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).
Proposals are encouraged to leverage data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and relevant Data Spaces.

Ethical and Social Standards

Compliance with ethical standards and principles of research integrity is mandatory.
Requirements for dissemination and exploitation of results are in place.
Adherence to policies concerning the management of intellectual property is expected.
Projects must address and comply with gender equality considerations.
General principles and requirements from The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for their recruitment are applicable.

Collaborative and Strategic Considerations

Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects are strongly encouraged to maximize impact.
International cooperation is encouraged where relevant to the proposed topics.
The research is expected to build upon previous knowledge from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programs.
Maximizing feedback to policy and dissemination/exploitation of research results is crucial for providing recommendations to policymakers at various levels (European, national, regional, local).

Audit and Risk Management

Control mechanisms will primarily focus on the technical implementation of the action and verification of work package completion, rather than ex-post financial audits of incurred costs.
The granting authority reserves the right to recover undue payments if the conditions for payment of the lump sum contribution per work package are not met.

Grant Details