Assessing and improving labour conditions and health and safety at work in farming
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-02
- Programme
- Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- October 28, 2021
- Deadline
- February 23, 2022
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €5,000,000
- Keywords
- Agricultural economicsHealth careSocietal EngagementMigrationSocial sciences and humanitiesOccupational healthSociologyMarket-creating innovationPublic health policiesLabour protection and securitySocial issuesEnvironment and health risks, occupational medicinMental healthLabour LawIntegration of refugees and migrantsSocial CareInvolvement of vulnerable populationsSociology of workBehavioural sciencesCorporate Social responsibilitySocial servicesLabour economicsAgricultureSocial innovationSocial InnovationSustainable innovationIntegration of disadvantaged groupsResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI)PsychologyEconomics and Businessmulti-actor approachSocial economymulti actor approachmulti-actor-approachOccupational safetyCare farmingSocial farming
Description
The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable, balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the EU farm to fork strategy[1], the European pillar of social rights[2] and the long-term vision for rural areas[3]. It will do so by increasing the understanding of the social and behavioural drivers of change, especially in relation with social inclusion, labour, health and safety aspects, and by favouring the deployment of innovations that improve labour conditions, health and safety in farming, equipping the sector with smarter and innovative solutions that increase opportunities for most vulnerable groups, improve attractiveness of farm work and reduce the feeling of being left behind. Improved knowledge leading to more supportive policy frameworks alongside practical innovations will empower people and businesses to act for change and get prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, adapt to climate change, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience, good health and positive long-term prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young people and vulnerable groups.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- enhanced understanding and awareness by policy makers, farmers organisations, trade unions and health authorities of farmers’ and farm workers’ health and safety, and on the implications of the perceptions of their work on the future of the sector and hence on long-term food security;
- improved policy and governance frameworks favouring safer and more inclusive working environments for farmers and farm workers;
- wider use of corporate social responsibility innovations by farm businesses; and
- improved health, safety and labour conditions in farming thanks to better performing European and national policy and legal frameworks and innovative bottom-up initiatives.
Proposals should analyse health and safety at work issues in the farming sector with a specific focus on working conditions (and how they will evolve with digital transitions, climate change, health risks, regulatory developments on chemicals, farmers mental health, injuries, etc.) and labour conditions (seasonal patterns, working time, income and work outside legal contracts, including mobile EU and non-EU workers) also in relation to the perceived attractiveness of farming or working in farming as a job. They should analyse work risks and the vulnerability of farm workers of different genders and ages. They should engage with current and potential future farmers and farm workers on their perception of work in farming and their perspectives and plans for the future, including farm inheritance/take over, seeking to understand the attractiveness of the job (e.g. in relation to wages, stability, seasonality etc.). They should assess the impact of the type of labour force involved (family, local, external) on society and on the farm (including from the workers’ perspectives) and the consequences in case of external shocks such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Proposals should explore the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and social economy and entrepreneurship to improve the situation of farm workers, including business models that reward improved working conditions through premium prices or other forms of reward, including for non-productive functions such as social inclusion, empowerment and care (non-EU good practices could be considered). They should analyse consumers’ willingness to pay for more ethical working conditions and enabling conditions for market development in this arena. To this end, they should support social innovation[4], social entrepreneurship or corporate social responsibility pilots in a limited number of localities to serve as role models or positive examples to learn from and be scaled-up.
They should explore the policy implications of the outcomes (including regulation and control); benchmark policy design and delivery and make recommendations for improved policy frameworks at the right level of governance considering the various competencies involved (EU, national, regional etc.). Finally, they should develop training and education actions to raise farmers, farm workers, trade unions and farmers organisations awareness of health-protecting innovations that can be scaled up.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, bringing together multiple science fields, in particular the social sciences and humanities (SSH) (e.g. sociology, behavioural sciences, psychology etc.), actors with complementary knowledge of health, employment, farm contracts, taxation etc., farmers and farmer organisations or trade unions and support groups for farmers facing difficulties. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. Proposals should cover a representative variety of countries and sectors at least in the EU, covering in particular countries and sectors in which intra-EU and non-EU mobile workers are a significant part of the sector’s labour force. Attention should be paid to gender and age disparities in the cases analysed and pilots supported. For gender-related issues, the project may engage in collaboration with projects funded under HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-01: Boosting women-led innovation in farming and rural areas.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Social Innovation
Social sciences and humanities
Societal Engagement
[1]https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en
[2]https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en
[3]https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-vision-rural-areas_en
[4]Social innovation is defined for this topic as “the reconfiguring of social practices, in response to societal challenges, which seeks to enhance outcomes on societal well-being and necessarily includes the engagement of civil society actors”. (SIMRA)
Destination & Scope
Places and people matter to the achievement of a more sustainable Europe. The Sustainable Development Goals and the ecological and digital transitions brought forward by the European Green Deal[[https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en]] and digital strategy[[https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-future_en]], alongside the recent pandemic, bring challenges and opportunities that differ for different places and people. Rural (including mountains and sparsely populated areas) and coastal areas, play a key role in managing, protecting and using natural resources. The provision of both private and public goods from these areas depends on the resilience and attractiveness of rural and coastal communities and the capacity of people who live and work there to access a sufficient level of well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted deficiencies in digital infrastructures and economic opportunities that hamper resilience. Urban communities generally offer better access to many services but are also more vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions, as shown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, they have a key role to play in fostering sustainable production and consumption as major demand drivers. In all communities, social and behavioural drivers play an important role in enabling or slowing down transitions. Knowledge and innovative solutions need to be developed to enhance every community’s resilience and capacity to contribute to and benefit from the upcoming transitions in an economy that works for all territories and ensures a fair and just transition leaving no one behind.
Under this destination, transdisciplinary R&I with a strong social and behavioural sciences dimension, and attention to gender aspects, will foster a sustainable, balanced and inclusive development of rural[[R&I will support the implementation of an EU-level long-term vision for rural areas to be published in the 2nd quarter of 2021.]], coastal and urban areas in three different ways. Firstly, it will aim to increase our understanding of the differential impacts of climate, environmental, socio-economic and demographic changes on rural, coastal and urban areas in order to identify ways to turn these changes into equal opportunities for people wherever they live, enhancing territorial cohesion and enabling a just transition. Secondly, it will explore innovative ways to tailor policy responses to the place-based challenges identified at various levels of governance. Thirdly, it will support bottom-up community-led innovation to empower communities to develop, test and upscale solutions that answer global challenges in locally adapted ways. Achieving policy goals require providing people with more equitable access to the knowledge and skills required to make informed choices and be actively engaged in the sustainable and circular management of natural resources, from production or service provision to consumption. Rural, coastal and urban communities, in particular women, youth, the most vulnerable groups like indigenous people and those hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, need to see their labour conditions, quality of life and long-term socio-economic prospects improved in the context of major transitions and rising threats to climate, resources and health. Their capacity to drive community-led innovations must be enhanced and their resilience increased across the diversity of European territories including remote places such as mountains and sparsely populated areas. Mobilising the forces of digital transformation, start-up ecosystems, nature-based solutions, as well as social and policy innovation will facilitate necessary changes and support smart, environment and climate friendly and resilient lifestyles.
Activities under this destination are complementary to Cluster 2 activities with attention to spatial differences and specifics in relation with democracy (Destination ‘Innovative research on democracy and governance’), socio-economic transformations (Destination ‘Innovative research on social and economic transformation’) and cultural heritage (Destination ‘Innovative research on the European cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries). They are also complementary to Cluster 5’s Destination ‘Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition’ on cities and communities that should explore place-based approaches to climate, energy and mobility specifically for all places.
To maximise the intended impacts and to ensure uptake by the communities, actions in the cluster should aim for high standards of transparency and openness for the solutions developed, going beyond ex-post documentation of results and extending to aspects such as assumptions, processes, models and data during the life of projects.
Expected impacts
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities and more specifically one or several of the following expected impacts:
- Rural, coastal and urban areas are developed in a sustainable, balanced and inclusive manner thanks to a better understanding of the environmental, socio-economic, behavioural, cultural and demographic drivers of change as well as deployment of digital, nature-based, social and community-led innovations.
- Rural, coastal and urban communities are empowered to act for change, better prepared to achieve climate neutrality, adapt to climate change, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience to various types of shocks, good health and positive long-term prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young people and vulnerable groups.
- Rural communities are equipped with innovative and smarter solutions that increase access to services, opportunities and adequate innovation ecosystems, including for women, youth and the most vulnerable groups, improve attractiveness and reduce the feeling of being left behind, even in the most remote locations like mountains.
- The sustainable development of coastal areas including coastal protection and resilience reaps the benefits of social, digital and community-led innovations, to deliver nature-based and scientifically validated solutions to existing coastal socio-economic and environmental threats. In this way, applications of new social, economic and governance frameworks are enabled.
- Tourism, recreational and leisure activity development in natural and coastal areas respects long-term environmental carrying capacity, and social goals.
- Urban and peri-urban communities – including the most vulnerable individuals and families – can access, afford and choose healthier, nutritious and environmental-friendly food.
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the “Do No Significant Harm” principle[[as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)]] according to which the research and innovation activities of the project should not be supporting or carrying out activities that make a significant harm to any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Topics under this destination will have impacts in the following impact areas of the Horizon Europe strategic plan for 2021-2024[[[Link to the strategic plan]]]: “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”; “Enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in water”; “Sustainable food systems from farm to fork”; “Good health and high-quality accessible healthcare”; “A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats”; “A competitive and secure data-economy”; and “Inclusive growth and new job opportunities”.
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 following additional eligibility criteria apply:
The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
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 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 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
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