Crime as a service
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05
- Programme
- Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2023
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- June 28, 2023
- Deadline
- November 22, 2023
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €8,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €4,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €4,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01CybercrimeFight against crime and terrorismFight against criminalityOrganised crimePolice authorities
Description
Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
- European Police Authorities and policy makers are provided with a robust analysis of the evolution of the contemporary organised crime, its structure, role of hierarchy, membership in the organisation and subcontracting of specialised criminal services.
- Policy makers benefit from an analysis of the legal framework utilised for countering organised crime, in terms of the validity of the legal definitions and penal provisions adopted and their impact on the effectiveness of judicial verdicts;
- Methodology for the identification of the means of advertising, communication, marketing and money flows used for offering criminal services on the underground market is developed, as well as the set of respective prevention, investigative and policy countermeasures; and
- Improved knowledge within European security institutions regarding developments in the field of organised crime and prospects for the future.
The Crime-as-a-service (CaaS) model proliferates and becomes a prominent feature not only for the cybercriminal underground, but also for traditional criminals hiring specialised digital and financial services. Thus, availability of exploit kits and other services not only serves cybercriminals with low technical skills, but also makes the operations of mature and organised threat actors more efficient. Recently Malware-as-a-service (MaaS) offerings on the Dark Web increased, of which ransomware affiliate programs seem to be the most prominent.
The shape of the organised crime evolves, apart from traditionally closed, clandestine criminal structures, and investigators are increasingly confronted with modern, flexible, specialised and "multi-ethnic" organisations with a global operational range. As these groups seem not to work within permanent multi-layered structures but with various actors delivering on demand services, some of the organised crime characteristics might be subject to a review. Actors in the shadow economy while seeking to maximise their profit, take instant advantage of new ways of operations, exploring and benefiting from modern technologies and organisational schemes to achieve their goals, thus resulting in dynamic transformation of subject networks. The observed trend may be a challenge for the codified laws and definitions of organised crime as supposedly sealed off to outsiders and characterised by fixed and permanent cooperation. In order to enhance the fight against organised crime at the European level, there is a need for distinct research to gain comprehensive insight into the internal workings of modern organised crime structures and their marketplaces.
Coordination among the successful proposal from this topic as well as with the successful proposals under topics HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06: Enhancing tools and capabilities to fight advanced forms of cyber threats and cyber-dependent crimes and HORIZON-CL3-2024-FCT-01-06: Tracing of cryptocurrencies transactions related to criminal purposes should be envisaged to avoid duplication, and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
Destination & Scope
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024: “Crime and terrorism are more effectively tackled, while respecting fundamental rights, […] thanks to more powerful prevention, preparedness and response, a better understanding of related human, societal and technological aspects, and the development of cutting-edge capabilities for police authorities […] including measures against cybercrime.”
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the following impacts:
- Modern information analysis for Police Authorities, allowing them to efficiently fight criminals and terrorists who use novel technologies;
- Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection, increasing the capabilities to apprehend criminals and terrorists and bring them to the court;
- Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to various forms of crime, including cybercrime, and terrorism, such as violent radicalisation, domestic and sexual violence, or juvenile offenders;
- Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces (while preserving their quality and openness);
- Improved intelligence picture and enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of various forms of organised crime;
- More secure cyberspace for citizens, especially children, through a robust prevention, detection, and protection from cybercriminal activities.
This Destination will also promote, whenever appropriate and applicable, the proposals with:
- the involvement of the Police Authorities in their core,
- a clear strategy on how they will adapt to the fast-evolving environment in the area of fight against crime and terrorism (evolution of related technologies, evolution of criminal modi operandi and business models related to these technologies, etc.),
- a focus on tools that are modular and can be easily plugged into another platform, and not on a platform (in order to avoid platform multiplication),
- tools that are developed and validated against practitioners’ needs and requirements,
- a robust plan on how they will build on the relevant predecessor projects,
- the (active) involvement of citizens, voluntary organisations and communities,
- education and training aspects, especially for Police Authorities and other relevant practitioners, as well as information sharing and awareness raising of the citizens,
- a clear strategy on the uptake of the outcomes, defined in consultation with the involved stakeholders,
- a well-developed plan both on how research data for training and testing will be obtained, in order to reach the requested Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), and on how the specific TRL will be measured.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
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.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 Police Authorities[[In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention, detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.]] from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitionerss” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
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Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
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Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
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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)
Call-specific instructions:
Template for Security & eligibility conditions in Horizon Europe
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 6. Civil Security for Society
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.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
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The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search Services help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Latest Updates
A total of 52 proposals have been submitted in response to this call. The number of proposals for each topic is shown below including the indicative budget of the topics for 2023:
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-01: 6 proposal (indicative budget: 7 M€)
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-02: 6 proposals (indicative budget: 9 M€)
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-03: 14 proposals (indicative budget: 4 M€)
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-04: 11 proposals (indicative budget: 4 M€)
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05: 6 proposals (indicative budget: 4 M€)
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06: 9 proposals (indicative budget: 8 M€)
The evaluation of the proposals will start by mid-December and will be closed by mid-February 2024. Applicants will be informed on the outcome of the evaluations in mid-April 2024.
We kindly inform you that a CORRIGENDUM has been published in the updates section of topic HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05.
CORRIGENDUM:
Please note that the paragraph:
“Coordination among the successful proposal from this topic as well as with the successful proposals under topics HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06: Enhancing tools and capabilities to fight advanced forms of cyber threats and cyber-dependent crimes and HORIZON-CL3-2024- FCT-01-06: Tracing of cryptocurrencies transactions related to criminal purposes should be envisaged to avoid duplication, and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.”
should read
“Coordination among the successful proposal from this topic as well as with the successful proposals under topics HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06: Enhancing tools and capabilities to fight advanced forms of cyber threats and cyber-dependent crimes and HORIZON-CL3-2024- FCT-01-08: Tracing of cryptocurrencies transactions related to criminal purposes should be envisaged to avoid duplication, and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact."