Projects funded under this destination should contribute to the following expected impacts in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027[1]:
The expected impacts reflect the two-pronged nature of the destination. On the one hand, research funded by this destination will improve the understanding of how the macro drivers of change (technological change, climate change, new global trade patterns, along with migration, human mobility, and other demographic changes) impact society and inform policy makers on how to mitigate negative consequences and harness newly created opportunities. The results obtained should improve the understanding of the interplay between different drivers of change and their social, ethical, political, and economic implications. The improved understanding of these challenges and their economic, social, and distributional impacts will fill in the research gaps while also inform the design and assessment of policies addressing existing and emerging challenges, including in the areas of education, well-being and mental health.
On the other hand, research and innovation investment should be geared towards deepening the understanding of how ongoing changes impact society, with a specific emphasis on the key objectives of boosting inclusive and sustainable growth and effectively reducing vulnerabilities, poverty and inequalities. This knowledge should provide valuable insights to policymakers to design and assess policies that effectively address vulnerabilities while capitalizing on emerging opportunities.
Overall, the destination’s activities will help promote the EU’s inclusive growth, resilience, and fair transition towards climate neutrality, by providing solid analytical evidence to implementing actions related to:
A new European Partnership on Social Transformations and Resilience[4], focused on the social sciences and humanities (SSH), will be launched to make use of their potential to foster resilience, fairness and inclusiveness, and social cohesion in the light of changes in climate and environment, technology, demography, and unexpected shocks. The Partnership will fund research and innovation activities in the areas of the future of work, modernisation of social protection and essential services, education and skills development and a fair transition towards climate neutrality.
Applicants are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the services offered by the current and future EU-funded European Research Infrastructures, particularly those in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) domain[5].
Where applicable, proposals should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), as well as data from relevant Data Spaces. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this research is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).
To maximise the impacts of R&I under this Destination in line with EU priorities, international cooperation is encouraged whenever relevant in the proposed topics.
Research on social and economic transformations funded by topics in the present Work Programme will build upon its predecessors in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe and further push the boundaries of state-of-the-art knowledge. It will do so by further engaging with a vast array of stakeholders, not limited to universities and research centres, but also extending to social partners (trade unions and business organizations), civil society organizations, practitioners, VET providers, and SMEs.
The destination will rely on a carefully balanced mix of actions, to bring together a balanced and appropriate set of stakeholders to achieve research of the highest quality, while aiming at providing recommendations to policymakers at European, national, regional and local level that could have a beneficial societal and economic impact. In order to facilitate the latter, it will maximise the feedback to policy and the dissemination and exploitation of research and innovation results and practices in the domain of social and economic transformations.
[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52021DC0101
[3] https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities
[4] see topic HORIZON-CL2-2026-02-TRANSFO-01 in this Work Programme
[5] https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/ for example CESSDA - Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives
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Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Scope:
The EU’s ability to compete on a global scale depends not only on retaining homegrown talent but also on actively drawing and retaining talent from outside Europe. The Union of Skills, adopted in March 2025, aims to make the EU and the European Research Area (ERA) a global magnet for talent, to attract and retain brilliant extra-EU tertiary students, top-level researchers and high-skilled workers. There is still limited research on what specific factors and their variability across Member States and Associated Countries (e.g. academic quality, career opportunities, cultural appeal, political context or funding availability) most influence the decision-making process for international students when choosing destinations. The same applies to the factors that can make a destination desirable for researchers and other high-skilled workers (e.g. quality of life, wages, professional opportunities, integration and family reunification measures, support to innovation ecosystem). More evidence is also needed about:
Proposals should apply rigorous quantitative methods for their analysis of the abovementioned factors, policies and programmes and could complement them with qualitative research methods and relevant research from SSH disciplines. Proposals should also address the gender and disability dimensions of attracting and retaining talent. As the pull factors may differ among categories of migrants, proposals can choose which group to focus on: students, researchers and/or high-skilled workers.
Cooperation with higher education institutions, research institutions, non-academic organisations and notably industry, and social partners, as well as clustering and cooperation among selected projects under this call and other relevant projects, are strongly encouraged.
"],"identifier":["HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-TRANSFO-06"],"es_ContentType":["text/plain"],"programmePeriod":["2021 - 2027"],"deadlineDate":["2026-09-24T00:00:00.000+0000"],"es_Combine":["3"],"esST_URL":["https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-TRANSFO-06"],"tags":[],"cenTagsA":["TOPICS-050418","TOPICS-050419","TOPICS-050420","TOPICS-050421","TOPICS-050422","TOPICS-050423","TOPICS-000600"],"esDA_QueueDate":["2026-09-30T13:09:09.077+0200"],"destinationDescription":["Innovative Research on Social and Economic Transformations (2026-27)"],"actions":["[{\"types\":[{\"typeOfAction\":\"HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions\",\"typeOfMGA\":[{\"id\":43027849,\"abbreviation\":\"HORIZON-AG-LS\",\"description\":\"HORIZON Lump Sum Grant\"}]}],\"status\":{\"id\":31094503,\"abbreviation\":\"Closed\",\"description\":\"Closed\"},\"plannedOpeningDate\":\"2026-05-12\",\"submissionProcedure\":{\"id\":31094504,\"abbreviation\":\"single-stage\",\"description\":\"single-stage\"},\"deadlineDates\":[\"2026-09-24\"]}]"],"startDate":["2026-05-12T00:00:00.000+0000"],"deadlineModel":["single-stage"],"status":["31094503"],"supportInfo":["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.
National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).
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 help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
"],"sepTemplate":["No submission system is open for this topic.
"],"sortStatus":["3"],"destination":["48080703"],"topicConditions":["As 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.
The page limit for the Part B of the Research and Innovation (RIA) application using lump sum is 45 pages. In addition, it is mandatory to submit a detailed budget table, using the template available in the Submission System.
As 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 Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner. The JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal - see General Annex B.
As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
As described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.
In addition, as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
As described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 5. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual