Future scenarios and young visions for European democracy 2040
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-11
- Programme
- Past, present and future of democracies
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- October 4, 2023
- Deadline
- February 7, 2024
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €6,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €2,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €3,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- Social sciences and humanitiesForesightForesight / ForecastSocietal Engagementcivic engagementHORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-11next practicesemerging trends in democracycivil societycitizen engagementscenario building
Description
Projects should contribute to the following expected outcome:
- Future scenario workflows, roadmap and strategy playbook to achieve the most preferred scenarios for democracy in the European Union 2040, researched, debated and co-developed through iterative, large-scale engagement processes with diverse groups of stakeholders i.e. young European citizens, political and institutional actors and organised civil society.
Democracy in the EU faces challenges from rising extremism and polarisation, covert authoritarianism, election interference and the spread of manipulative information. Political democracies are looking for new balances in fast-changing societal contexts while facing countless number of internal and global challenges and changes in power relations. This – in turn – reduces the willingness to undertake reforms that could deepen the European Union further. Nationalistic and populistic tendencies, tensions between national and international frameworks, political and social polarisation jeopardise established values and practices (e.g. parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, separation of powers, democratic dialogue, etc.) and seem to weaken the political clout of the European Union in the long run.
In light of the current discourse about the need to rethink and redesign virtual and real public spaces and civic engagement, this research will also investigate the future of democracy and its instruments, and will also explore the views of political institutions such as national parliaments and the European Institutions, and those of organised civil society actors as regards their visions for the future, emerging trends such as e.g. participatory and deliberative democracy models that better serve the public good, build trust between governments and citizens, and deepen democracy at large. Particular attention should be paid to the development of future European (and national) public spaces that mutually support one another and work together, and the evolution of the current EU model (with its peculiarities and often quoted democratic deficit) into its best potential.
With the accelerating complexity of change, there is a growing need to combine solid scientific forecasting methods that rely on objective historical data with qualitative and speculative foresight practices, and with a series of iterative, large-scale (online and in-person) engagements in order to build and co-develop alternative future scenarios that can empower young people living in the EU to proactively shape their collective future in the European Union. In addition, proposals should help to understand the visions of the next generation and how to provide them with the tools to put those visions in practice. It is important to document (e.g. the making-of film, documentary, library of video interviews, etc.) the journey undertaken over time from research through large-scale stakeholder engagements, debates and co-development of outcomes for European citizens to engage with the content as the project is progressing and after its conclusion.
Destination & Scope
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which unfolds ominously while this work programme is prepared, has deep and extraordinary consequences on European security, international relations, as well as trust in democratic systems and in the media. However, it cannot be seen as an isolated event. It is part of an accelerated and ever intensifying movement of rejection and challenge of democracy and of the liberal international order. Indexes and reports measuring the overall situation of democracies in the world confirm their increased fragility and vulnerability over the last years: a process labelled as a “long democratic recession”, a shift in the nature of “autocratisation” or a “global expansion of authoritarian rule”, which quantitatively translates into the increase of the number of countries moving towards authoritarianism and the overall decline of the quality of democracies. [[ Cfr. the latest reports from Freedom House or the V-Dem Institute:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege;
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule
http://www.v-dem.net/static/website/files/dr/dr_2021.pdf;
https://v-dem.net/media/publications/dr_2022.pdf]]
Interdisciplinary research on the past and present challenges to and facilitators of democracy can help to understand them better, with a view to strengthen their resilience and stability. It will also help to counter the shift from governance based on expertise, rules-based multilateralism and consensual policymaking towards majoritarianism, unilateralism, nationalism, populism and polarisation. It will foster democracy’s further development with a view to enhancing representation, participation, openness, pluralism, tolerance, the effectiveness of public policy, non-discrimination, civic engagement, the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law. These reflect the European Union’s values as defined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty[[ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union, Title 1 “Common Provisions”, Article 2: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail”.]].
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
- Democratic governance is reinvigorated by improving the accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule-of-law based institutions and policies and through the expansion of active and inclusive citizenship empowered by the safeguarding of fundamental rights.
The implementation of the research activities of the destination will assist in the re-invigoration and modernisation of democratic governance. The aim is to develop evidence-based innovations, policies and policy recommendations, as well as institutional frameworks that expand political participation, social dialogue, civic engagement, gender equality and inclusiveness. Activities will also contribute to enhancing the transparency, effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of public policymaking. They will help improving trust in democratic institutions, safeguarding liberties and the rule of law and protecting democracy from multidimensional threats. Rich historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives, including a comparative dimension, will set the frame for soundly understanding present developments and help to map future pathways. In the medium to long term, the knowledge, data, scientifically robust recommendations and innovations generated will enhance decision-making on all aspects relevant to democratic governance. As the Destination aims directly at citizen engagement and at producing lasting change, it is of particular importance that the research and innovation actions promote the highest standards of transparency and openness. When applicable, it is encouraged to open up the process, criteria, methodologies and data to civil society in the course of the research.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
-
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds 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: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
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Latest Updates
FLASH EVALUATION results
HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01
Published: 07/12/2022
Opened: 04/10/2023
Deadline: 07/02/2024
The total budget for the call was EUR 95.000.000.
The results of the evaluations per topic are as follows:
HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-11
Budget for the topic: EUR 4.000.000
Number of proposals submitted (including proposals transferred from or to other calls): 11
Number of inadmissible proposals: 0
Number of ineligible proposals: 0
Number of above-threshold proposals: 9
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: EUR 32485924,5
Number of proposals retained for funding: 2
Number of proposals in the reserve list: 1
Funding threshold: 14
(Proposals with the same score were ranked according to the priority order procedure set out in the call conditions (see in the General Annexes to the Work Programme or specific arrangements in the specific call/topic conditions).
Ranking distribution:
Number of proposals with scores lower or equal to 15 and higher or equal to 14: 2
Number of proposals with scores lower than 14 and higher or equal to 13: 1
Number of proposals with scores lower than 13 and higher or equal to 10: 6
Summary of observer report:
The observe the evaluation process of the single stage calls:
• HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01
• HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01
• HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01.
The same independent observer reviewed the evaluation of the three calls. This enabled the observer to follow the entire process, to identify strengths and areas for possible improvements specific to the single stage evaluation, and to compare procedures and practices of a fully online evaluation with online consensus independent observer was appointed by the European Research Executive Agency (REA) to
meetings and online discussions.
REA staff ensured that for the topics associated to these 3 calls, all actors involved were fully informed about the background guidance and legal documents, procedures and standards of quality. The organization and management were very challenging because of the large number of topics and proposals. Interdisciplinarity embedded in the call texts added layers to the overall complexity.
The overall evaluation process was executed in full compliance with the procedures, code of conduct, and guiding principles of fairness, transparency and equal treatment of proposals. The rules and guiding principles for the procedures concerning each evaluation step were known in advance to the applicants, the evaluators and all the persons involved in the evaluations. The briefing materials made available to the external experts were of the highest quality as they provided all the relevant information in a clear and comprehensive way. Experts were asked to declare any potential conflict of interest and to ensure confidentiality of all information. The evaluation process was robust. No preferential treatment of any proposal was observed by the observer or reported by any expert. The discussions were fair and consistent with open and detailed online deliberations covering all the criteria and sub criteria to ensure clarity of issues (both in remote discussion meetings and/or in written communications within the evaluation system) arising and providing impartial feedback to applicants. REA continues putting significant effort into assigning proposals to evaluation groups that cover all the key disciplines relevant to the topic and provides structured training to moderators on how to help experts bridge barriers between disciplines through informed discussions that leave sufficient space for each discipline.
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.
PROPOSAL NUMBERS
The call HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01 has closed on 07.02.2024.
287 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-01: 29 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-02: 21 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-03: 8 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-04: 61 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-05: 25 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-06: 25 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-07: 34 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-08: 51 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-09: 12 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-10: 7 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-11: 11 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12: 3 proposals
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in June 2024.