The rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy are foundational values of the EU laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. These values provide the Union with principled orientations to meet the inevitable geopolitical economic, social and demographic changes that could not be foreseen at the time the Treaties were drafted. This includes how the digital transformation would affect how the debate and political processes would be shaped.
Democracy is cultural practice as much as it is a political system. It is a key strength of European societies, helping ensure respect for equality, the rule of law, fundamental rights and liberty. Actors with anti-democratic tendencies attack democracies and their institutions because democracy is a safeguard against them[[The 2025 report of the V-Dem Institute (“25 years of Autocratization-Democracy Trumped?”) confirms the appalling signs, indicators and tendencies captured over previous years of measurement: “The trend of the ‘third wave of autocratization’ is deepening and spreading. That includes weakening of democracy in some established liberal democracies, breakdown of democracy in countries that were democratic for most of the 21st century, as well as deepening of autocracy in already autocratic states […] The global democratic decline deepens, regardless of how we slice the data and whichever measure we use” (pp. 9 and 10)]]. Even traditionally well-functioning democracies face many challenges, which means that they also continuously need to adapt as conditions change. Social sciences and humanities (SSH) research plays a crucial role in understanding current challenges and threats and mapping future pathways for innovative solutions. Building on historical, cultural, social, legal and philosophical perspectives, research will foster the further development of democracy with a view to enhancing citizen participation and inclusive policymaking, promoting equality and inclusiveness, addressing the impact of AI and the digital transformation of democracy. It will also reinforce democratic resilience and civic preparedness, and preserve the role of free, independent and plural media as key tenets of democracy, among other objectives.
Expected impact:
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:
The aim of the research investment supporting this impact is to develop a robust evidence base that can inform the establishment of effective, relevant and sensible policies, which bolster the resilience of democratic systems and protect them from threats. At the same time, it seeks to foster critical thinking while also reinforcing citizens’ trust in democracy, its institutions, and the sense of political participation in its widest possible sense.
The destination seeks synergies with other relevant EU programmes, in particular for the uptake of research results and innovative solutions developed under Horizon Europe. Interaction – among others – with the following programmes is encouraged: Digital Europe (DIGITAL), Technical Support Instrument, CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), Erasmus+, ESF+ and Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument.
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 domain[1]. Where applicable, proposals should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, as well as data from relevant Data Spaces.
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. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this destination is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable). When applicable, it is encouraged to open up the process, criteria, methodologies and data to civil society in the course of the research.
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.
[1] For a full list see https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/ri-portfolio/table. In the social sciences domain, see for example: CESSDA - Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (https://www.cessda.eu/), ESS – European Social Survey (https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/), SHARE - Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (https://www.share-eric.eu/) or the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (https://ehri-project.eu/)
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Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Scope:
Global commons—resources shared by all humanity—are increasingly threatened by overuse and degradation by state and non-state actors. Spaces beyond national jurisdiction, in particular, require collective management to ensure sustainability for future generations. Not doing so will deepen the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and possibly lead to cascading and compounding effects and crossing irreversible tipping points and planetary boundaries. Evolving geopolitical tensions, weakened multilateral cooperation, technological advances, and rising commercial interests from non-state actors, have intensified pressures on global commons. Declining trust in science further complicates efforts to agree on their fair and sustainable governance, risking instability and conflict.
Against the current geopolitical background, there is a need to review the effectiveness of existing legal instruments and to accompany with research the implementation of new instruments. In addition, there is a need to further enhance the impact of existing and evolving science-policy fora[1] and their links to relevant conventions and agreements. To this end, proposals should perform a comprehensive mapping of actors’ motivations and values on societal, corporate and state level that covers different regions and coalitions of countries around the world[2].
Research is also needed into how the current governance of global commons affects intergenerational justice and human rights, including gender equality and the impact on different social groups, and how civil society can be enabled to access information, provide knowledge (including Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities knowledge), and participate in the governance of global commons. This may include conducting research aimed at enhancing citizen engagement and trust in governance processes and efforts, exploring motivations and drivers underlying stakeholder positions in multilateral fora. Proposals are also encouraged to study the rights of appeal and redress in policies related to the global commons, including but not limited to the “rights of nature”.
The underlying question is how a sustainable governance of global commons can look like in a multipolar world with competing hegemonic powers that do not necessarily share a common understanding of the merits of cooperation, multilateralism, or even international law. Hence, the overall aim of this call is to develop multi- and interdisciplinary concepts and solutions for governing the global commons sustainably, including through the use of science diplomacy as a soft power and by learning from best practices in the different types of commons, such as the Ocean, Antarctica and Outer Space.
Proposals are encouraged to explore how imbalances in the governance of global commons may contribute to geopolitical tensions, including the outbreak of direct conflicts or proxy wars, as well as the erosion or violation of human rights. They are also encouraged to consider the wider implications of such governance gaps for international stability and the rules-based global order.
Proposals are expected to address one of the following thematic areas:
Area A: Climate governance. Projects should consider past and current global climate governance efforts, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and develop insights for strengthening climate governance, considering the current geopolitical context. Specific attention should be given to analysing the drivers underlying the reproduction of diverging positions towards climate change among stakeholders and possible solutions as well as reinforcing the role of science-policy interfaces such as the IPCC and other relevant science-based mechanisms, e.g., through enhanced citizen engagement to increase trust. Proposals should inform and develop recommendations for EU and global science diplomacy action.
Area B: Biodiversity governance. Projects should consider past and current global biodiversity governance efforts, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, related Conferences of the Parties and their subsidiary bodies, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Projects are encouraged to examine in particular the integration of rights of appeal and redress in environmental decision-making processes, including legal mechanisms to address grievances and ensure accountability, particularly in the context of the “rights of nature” and other innovative approaches to environmental justice. Taking into account the current geopolitical environment, projects should develop options for reinforcing the role of science-policy interfaces such as the IPBES, IPR and other relevant science-based mechanisms, including the Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity and the Subregional Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centres, with the aim of informing and developing recommendations for EU and global science diplomacy action. This should include a focus on enhancing access to environmental information for citizens and civil society organisations to empower biodiversity action, as well as mainstreaming gender equality and human rights considerations into biodiversity policy frameworks, in alignment with the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HCHR) on the development of human rights norms for biodiversity protection.
Area C: Governance of spaces beyond national jurisdiction. Projects should provide a cross-cutting assessment of how different types of spaces beyond national jurisdiction have been governed so far, notably the ocean, polar regions, outer space including the Moon, Low Earth Orbit, the use of the radio spectrum, and dark and quiet skies. This may include a comparative review of the legal frameworks (e.g., Antarctic Treaty, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, High Seas Treaty, Outer Space Treaty, etc.). Projects should study in a holistic, multidisciplinary manner current and emerging pressures on these spaces, with specific emphasis on the role of non-state actors and develop approaches to governing these spaces sustainably despite geopolitical fragmentation, thereby informing EU science diplomacy action. Examples of application include, and are not limited to, the protection of deep-sea ecosystems, the management of space debris, or the preservation of a dark and quiet sky.
Research activities should meaningfully involve experts with practical experience in the relevant processes and bodies, including policymakers, diplomats, the business sector, academia, and civil society, including indigenous rights holders. Engagement with international partners is strongly encouraged. Involvement of the EU’s outermost regions is particularly welcome for area C. Research should have a multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary systemic perspective, bringing together expertise across natural sciences and engineering as well as social sciences and humanities (including history, law, ethics, and other disciplines). The selected projects should cooperate with each other to foster synergies and links between the different governance frameworks. Proposals are encouraged to identify other relevant EU-funded projects and to explore potential collaboration opportunities with them.
[1] Such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP), the International Resource Panel (IRP), and the International Platform for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS)
[2] Such as the G7, G20, G77, BRICS, Small Island Developing States, etc.
"],"identifier":["HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-DEMOCRACY-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-DEMOCRACY-06"],"tags":["Indigenous knowledge","biodiversity governance","civil society participation","climate governance","environmental justice","global commons governance","human rights","intergenerational justice","multilateral cooperation","non-state actors","planetary boundaries","rights of nature","science diplomacy","science-policy interfaces","spaces beyond national jurisdiction"],"cenTagsA":["TOPICS-052668","TOPICS-052669","TOPICS-052670","TOPICS-052671","TOPICS-052672","TOPICS-052673","TOPICS-052674","TOPICS-035251","TOPICS-052675","TOPICS-001591","TOPICS-046582","TOPICS-052676","TOPICS-052677","TOPICS-052678","TOPICS-026416","TOPICS-002381","TOPICS-052679","TOPICS-052680","TOPICS-052681","TOPICS-052682","TOPICS-033058","TOPICS-001316","TOPICS-001327","TOPICS-002609","TOPICS-003284","TOPICS-009020","TOPICS-000624","TOPICS-018936","TOPICS-006028","TOPICS-002599","TOPICS-002382","TOPICS-009882","TOPICS-001323","TOPICS-000627","TOPICS-009490","TOPICS-026368"],"esDA_QueueDate":["2026-09-30T13:06:10.397+0200"],"destinationDescription":["Innovative Research on Democracy and Governance (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":["48080699"],"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.
As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the topic’s different thematic areas, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest ranked within each area provided in the scope (areas A, B, and C), provided that the corresponding applications attain all thresholds. Proposals should clearly indicate the thematic area(s) they have selected to work on.
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