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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to counter and prevent radicalisation, extremism, hate speech, and polarisation. It supports research and innovation projects that gain a comprehensive understanding of these phenomena, including their links to social and economic inequality, and develop effective countermeasures. The grant is primarily for public bodies, research organizations, media organizations, NGOs, and civil society organizations. - Grant name: Countering and preventing radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation - Funding organization: European Commission (Horizon Europe) - Total funding for this topic: 10,500,000 EUR - Target recipient type: Research organizations, public bodies, media organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations, private entities (especially those under DSA). - Target recipient size: Not specified, but encourages broad consortia. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Focuses on social sciences and humanities, media, and public policy related to democracy, security, and social cohesion. - Geographic scope: Open to eligible countries as defined in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (EU Member States and Associated Countries). - Key filtering criteria: Focus on research and development of strategies/tools against radicalisation, extremism, hate speech, and polarisation; strong multi-stakeholder involvement; emphasis on social sciences and humanities research. - Grant frequency: Part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, suggesting a recurring call within the program's multi-annual framework.

Financial Structure

Funding takes the form of a lump sum contribution, meaning payments are based on the proper implementation of agreed-upon work packages, not on actual incurred costs.
The total budget for this specific topic is 10,500,000 EUR.
The expected number of grants awarded under this topic is 3.
Minimum grant amount per project is 3,000,000 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project is 3,500,000 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Eligible costs for lump sum calculation may include: personnel costs (employees, direct contractors, seconded persons, SME owners, natural persons), subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods/services), and other specific cost categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, research infrastructure access, etc.).
Ineligible costs are explicitly excluded from the lump sum calculation.
Indirect costs are included in the lump sum calculation at a flat rate of 25% of the direct costs that qualify.
Applicants propose the lump sum amount based on estimated direct and indirect project costs, with a breakdown per work package and per beneficiary.
A contribution of 5% to 8% of the total lump sum is retained for the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Payments are linked to the successful completion of work packages, as verified through technical implementation checks.
There is generally no obligation for beneficiaries to document actual costs incurred, and typical financial ex-post audits are minimised; controls focus on technical implementation.

Eligibility Requirements

General Eligibility

All proposals must adhere to the admissibility conditions regarding page limit and layout as described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible countries are defined in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, which includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if specific funding provisions are made.
Applicants must meet financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Organizational Type and Structure

Eligible organization types include (but are not limited to): researchers (including from Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines), practitioners, educators, media organizations, public bodies, social media platforms, representatives from other social networks, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, and policymakers.
Involvement of a wide range of stakeholders and potential end-users (non-scientific and non-academic actors) is required to test and uptake research results and explore implementation readiness.
Private entities, such as providers of intermediaries' services under the Digital Services Act (DSA), are encouraged to be involved to facilitate access to data necessary for research.
Consortia are implicitly required and strongly encouraged due to the multi-stakeholder and collaborative nature of the research action.

Application Process

Application deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+00.
Submission session opened: 2025-05-15.
Application procedure: Single-stage submission.
Submission platform: Electronic Submission Service via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application forms: Specific to this call, available in the Submission System. Standard application form for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) is used.
Part B of the application form has a page limit of 50 pages for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) using lump sum.
A detailed budget table is mandatory, using the template available in the Submission System.
Applicants must declare that they have followed their own accounting practices for preparing the estimated budget.

Evaluation Process

Evaluation and award criteria are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Project duration: Not explicitly stated, but lump sum conditions imply implementation structured around work packages.
Reporting obligations for lump sum grants focus on the proper implementation of work packages. If conditions for a work package are not met, the corresponding lump sum is not paid for that period but can be paid later if conditions are met.
Progress tracking: Checks, reviews, and audits will focus primarily on the technical implementation of the action, including the fulfillment of conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package, ethics, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, intellectual property management, and gender equality.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated according to standard Horizon Europe procedures by independent experts.
Main evaluation criteria: excellence, expected impact, and quality and efficiency of the implementation.

Specific Scoring Factors

Excellence: Quality and novelty of the research, soundness of the proposed methodology, and expertise of the research team.
Impact: Credibility of the pathway to achieve the expected outcomes, potential scale of impact on democratic systems, and contribution to policy recommendations and innovative solutions.
Quality and Efficiency of Implementation: Suitability of the work plan, proposed resources, and management structures; effectiveness of collaboration mechanisms, including stakeholder involvement.

Financial Evaluation

Experts with financial expertise will check the budget estimate based on benchmarks (market prices, statistical data, historical data).
Assessment will ensure that proposed resources and lump sum breakdown are sufficient to achieve the planned activities and outputs.

Cross-Cutting Themes Impact on Scoring

Alignment with EU priorities for reinvigorating democratic governance, improving accountability, transparency, effectiveness, and trustworthiness of institutions.
Contribution to fostering democracy and promoting EU values, especially in global challenges, resilient democracies, and agile institutions/inclusive societies.
Demonstrated collaboration with relevant EU-funded projects and research infrastructures (e.g., RAN, EOSC, Data Spaces).
Commitment to ensuring data produced is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

Proposals must adhere to general conditions as described in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial setup of grants follows the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

Data Protection and Intellectual Property

Research activities should leverage data and services from European Research Infrastructures, including those federated under the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and relevant Data Spaces.
Particular efforts should be made to ensure that all data produced within the project is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).
Checks on management of intellectual property are part of grant compliance, particularly for lump sum grants where financial reporting is reduced.

Ethical Standards and Research Integrity

Grant compliance includes adherence to ethical standards and research integrity.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment provide general principles and requirements for researchers, employers, and funders.

Risk Management and Security

The broader context of the grant aligns with EU policies to combat hate speech and crime, protect public spaces, and counter radicalisation, as outlined in the Joint Communication 'No Place for Hate'.
Strategic alignment with EU efforts to safeguard democratic processes and protect against threats to social cohesion and security.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

The grant encourages historical and comparative analysis to understand past and contemporary uses of hate speech and extremist narratives.
Collaboration with the EU Knowledge Hub on radicalisation prevention (RAN – Radicalisation Awareness Network) is explicitly encouraged to align priorities and share outcomes, including developing advisory services for RAN members.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant EU-funded projects (e.g., HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-03) are strongly encouraged.
International cooperation is encouraged where relevant to maximise the impact of Research & Innovation in line with EU priorities.
Potential for involvement of private entities and social media platforms for access to data, particularly under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Grant Details