Announced, not yet open · HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions · two-stage · HORIZON-CL2-2027-02-DEMOCRACY-09-two-stage
Expected Outcome:
Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Scope:
The Political Guidelines for 2024-2029 of the European Commission[1] announced a new European Democracy Shield. Building on the European Democracy Action Plan[2] and the Defence of Democracy Package[3], this initiative aims to safeguard, strengthen and promote democracy in the EU and to reinforce public trust. The Democracy Shield will aim to reinforce citizens’ participation and engagement in the democratic life, promote free and fair elections and support free and independent media. It will also address the increasing threats to democratic systems, institutions and processes within the EU, often driven by various hostile actors aiming to undermine citizens’ trust in democracy and its institutions. In addition, the Commission is also preparing a Civil Society Strategy and has also announced an updated strategy on LGBTIQ equality, a new anti-racism strategy, a new gender equality strategy, and a roadmap for women’s rights[4] It also continues implementing the Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030[5], in line with the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, which the EU and its Member States are parties to[6].
Trimmed here, the full scope, expected outcomes and award criteria are on the official topic page ↗.
| Item | Estimate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Drafting effort | 8–10 weeks | short proposal, then a full one |
| Partner search | 4–8 weeks | runs in parallel, and it is the part that slips |
| Time to first payment | 9–12 months | cut-off → evaluation → grant agreement |
These are Bemzu's estimates from the call's structure (the number of stages and whether a consortium is required) not figures published by the Commission. Only the co-financing share is read from the call itself.
Two kinds of row. Most are the sentence we read the condition from, quoted out of the call itself. Some say plainly that they are not a quotation but the programme's own rule for this type of action, the EU portal publishes a table of contents where the conditions should be, so for a Research and Innovation Action the rate comes from the rulebook rather than from the fiche.
| Condition | Quoted from the call, or the rule behind it |
|---|---|
| Consortium size | Not quoted from this call — Research and Innovation Actions under the Horizon Europe rules are at least three independent legal entities from three different Member States or Associated Countries, at least one established in a Member State. |
| Funding rate | Not quoted from this call — Research and Innovation Actions under the Horizon Europe rules are funded at 100% of eligible costs for every participant. |
Eight questions, no account, nothing sent anywhere. You will know which of the 1526 open calls you can actually enter before you finish your coffee.
Check my fit
