Supporting and giving recognition to citizen science in the European Research Area
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-61
- Programme
- European Research Area
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- June 22, 2021
- Deadline
- September 23, 2021
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €5,000,000
- Keywords
- Societal EngagementPublic engagementSocial sciences and humanitiesSocial innovationOpen innovationResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI)Citizen sciencePrizePilotingCivil societyResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI)
Description
Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Significant number of experimental citizen science initiatives kick-started;
- Significant number of citizen science initiatives supported to become sustainable;
- Significant number of newcomers to the Framework Programme and a significant number of citizens involved in co-producing scientific knowledge;
- Increased recognition of excellent citizen science initiatives throughout the European Research Area;
- Improved evidence base for making policy on citizen science.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
- Increased engagement of citizens with science and researchers with citizens;
- Increased public trust in science;
- Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values;
- Better understanding among citizens of the process of building scientific knowledge through experimentation;
- Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a modus operandi of modern science;
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system.
Citizen Science is a rapidly emerging mode of research and innovation that shows huge promise in terms of collecting new qualities and quantities of data, harnessing collective intelligence, improving science-society literacy, and improving the relationship between science and society. However, financial support is not well adapted to the needs of small-scale and experimental activities and many citizen science initiatives that have proven their worth fail to sustain over the longer term. In addition, citizen science is under-recognised for its role in bridging between science and society, under-utilised where it is needed such as in relation to the Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals, and practitioners of citizen science are insufficiently recognised within the EU research and innovation system as conducting high-quality activities that can have numerous side-benefits.
In order to help remedy these weaknesses in the European research and innovation system, this action will launch two calls for proposals through financial support to third parties:
- Kick-starting: This will kick-start and provide support services to at least 100 citizen science activities that are at the conceptual or pilot stage and which show promise in terms of innovative theme or approach, collecting and analysing data, or generating other important benefits.
- Sustaining: This will support at least 25 on-going or recent citizen science activities to find ways to sustain their activities; these will have shown their worth in terms of innovative theme or approach, collecting and analysing data, generating other important benefits, or have particular potential to scale up across member states or the ERA.
The two calls may be launched over one or more waves but it should not be necessary to be supported by the ‘kick-starting’ call to apply for ‘sustainable’ call. Efforts should be made to evaluate the response to the open calls, capture the benefits arising from the citizen science activities it kick-starts (social, economic, democratic, scientific, etc.), and develop intelligence about factors that support or hinder the sustainability of successful citizen science initiatives.
In addition, this action should launch a European Union Prize for Citizen Science (funded by the action through financial support to third parties) open to all citizen science initiatives involving research and innovation actors, including civil society organisations, in the European Union. The action should prepare, publicise and launch the competition, organise a high-profile award ceremony and showcase the breadth and scope of excellent citizen science activities taking place across the European Union. In close liaison with the Commission throughout the process, the action should decide on the award categories, setup the panel of experts that will evaluate the contestants, and develop the conditions for participation and the award criteria that enable identification of excellent/best-in-class examples of citizen science in terms of their contribution to the scientific evidence base and/or other benefits (e.g. societal, economic, democratic). The action should also set up a comprehensive communication strategy around the prize. Prizes should be awarded to several winners (e.g. for different categories) and be funded through financial support to third parties. Each prize should be in the range of EUR 10 000 – 60 000.
Across all three of parts (kick-starting, sustaining, and the citizen science prize), the action should consider citizen science across all areas of research and innovation and take into account all of the different forms of participation that citizen science can entail without prejudice to any. Significant efforts should be made to be inclusive in terms of geography, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, socio-economic background etc. The large majority of the funding should be allocated to the activities to kick-start and sustain citizen science initiatives. The action should develop policy recommendations, policy briefs, and other research and innovation results/outputs and disseminate its experiences and learnings widely.
The action should build on and valorise the results of earlier projects in the Science and Society (FP6), Science in Society (FP7) and Science with and for Society (Horizon 2020) programmes, in particular projects focused on public engagement, responsible research and innovation, and citizen science, as well as of national and regional initiatives, and should aim to provide a seamless transition between previous supporting actions and this new action.
The project should last a minimum of 4 years.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Destination & Scope
Introduction
Horizon Europe has a new level of ambition – to maximise the impact of EU research and innovation funding for European science, economy and the wider society. It marks a paradigm change in the design of the EU R&I Framework Programmes (FP) from an activity-driven to an impact-driven programme. Coupled to this ambition is the relaunching of the European Research Area (ERA) as described in the recently published Commission Communication entitled A new ERA for Research and Innovation (COM/2020/628 final of 30.09.2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of R&I cooperation to deliver solutions to society’s most demanding needs. Delivering Europe’s recovery is a priority as are the green and digital twin transitions. To match these challenges, a new level of ambition that links better R&I with the economy, as well as with education and training, is necessary to put the EU’s scientific knowledge to work.
The new ERA calls for deepening existing priorities and initiatives through new and stronger approaches. The green and digital transitions and the recovery call for cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. They require the setting of new priorities, launching ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between policies.
To address these requirements, Destination 3 of Annex 11 of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, will support efforts to reform and enhance the EU R&I system. Destination 3 is built around four strands corresponding to the four objectives set out in the ERA Communication: 1. Prioritise investments and reforms; 2. Improve access to excellence; 3. Translate R&I results into the economy and 4. Deepen the ERA. The principle of excellence, meaning that the best researchers with the best ideas that respond best to the societal challenges obtain funding, remains the cornerstone for all investments under the ERA.
Strand 1 recognises the importance of prioritising investments and reforms to accelerate the green and digital transformation and to increase competitiveness as well as the speed and depth of the recovery. It offers support for policy makers and addresses the need for better analysis and evidence, including simplifying and facilitating the inter-play between national and European R&I systems.
Strand 2 addresses the need to improve access to excellence and to increase the performance of R&I systems, building on dedicated Horizon Europe measures as well as complementarities with smart specialisation strategies under the Cohesion Policy.
Strand 3 addresses the importance of translating R&I results into the economy. R&I policies should aim to boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and societies.
Strand 4 addresses the challenge of deepening the ERA and includes Open Science, Higher Education and Researchers, Citizen Science, Science Education, Gender and Ethics. It aims at underpinning a new ERA benefiting from knowledge creation, circulation and use. This empowers higher education institutions and research organisations to embrace a transformative process; where a highly skilled workforce circulate freely; where research outputs are shared; where gender equality is assured; where the outcomes of R&I are understood, trusted and increasingly used, by educated informed scientists and citizens to the benefit of society.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts:
- Reform and Enhance the EU R&I system
- Prioritisation of investments and reforms, realisation of the recovery and the twin transitions
- Improved access to excellence
- Greater quality of the scientific production and stronger translation of R&I results into the economy
- Deepen the ERA
- Coordinated national and regional R&I programmes by pooling national resources and contributing to the alignment of national research and innovation policies
- Improved knowledge for policy making about the networking patterns of research support staff and research management
- Synergies between research & innovation and higher education policies and programmes
- Modernised higher education sector, benefitting from targeted transformations in higher education, research, and innovation
- Increased number of interconnected knowledge ecosystems, strong in knowledge creation, circulation and use
- Researchers benefit from attractive careers
- Inclusive gender equality is promoted in the European research and innovation system
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
- Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a modus operandi of modern science
- Increased engagement of citizens with research and innovation
- Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values
- Identified synergies between second and third level education, and between education and business;
- Increased trust in science and R&I outcomes, and greater two-way communication between science and society
- Knowledge and a highly skilled workforce circulate freely
- Improved capacities within the EU R&I system to conduct open science
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
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
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
Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination obligations:
Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to freely share, in a timely manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants awarded from this work programme part subject to the same additional dissemination obligations. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make towards meeting them, and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants or prize.
The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied. Beneficiaries should refer to General Annex B of the Work Programme for further information and guidance.
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 CSA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
MGA
Call-specific instructions
Essential Information for Clinical Studies
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 12. Missions
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
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.
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
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
Submission template updated with Annex template for Financial Support to Third Parties (Tpl_Annex_FSTP.rtf).
The template must be filled in and uploaded as an Annex to the Proposal Part B if the consortium has planned the use of Financial Support to Third Parties.
Information on financial support to third parties and its relevant conditions are described in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021-2022, page 13.