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Democratic governance for times of disruptive changes to the social contract
Funding Program | Horizon Europe - Cluster 2 - Destination 1: Innovative research on democracy and governance | |
Call number | HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-06 | |
deadlines | Opening 14.12.2022 | Deadline 14.03.2023 17:00 |
Funding rate | 100% | |
Call budget | € 9,000,000.00 | |
Estimated EU contribution per project | between € 2,000,000.00 and € 3,000,000.00 | |
Link to the call | ec.europa.eu | |
Link to the submission | ec.europa.eu |
Call content
Call objectives | A social contract is the intellectual construct referring to the agreement between members of a society, community, or organisation that spells out the obligations, functions, and rights of each citizen agreeing to the contract. The classic concept of social contract also implies the notion of the individual renunciation of some freedoms, in exchange for core public goods, including the right to democratic participation and the protection that societal life can offer. When the social contract fails to uphold its end of the bargain and leaves its citizens disappointed, there is a risk of social unrest and political instability. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed social and economic inequalities, leading to calls for a new social contract at national, EU and global levels based on inclusivity, participation and sustainability. Such calls may include requests for new articulations of the basic justifications, functions, rights and duties of democratic societies and their citizens likewise. Some societies flourish while others struggle to maintain the social fabric, hardly avoiding the breakdown of their social contracts. Certain forms or configurations of the social contract appear more successful than others, and not necessarily because of their immutability or endurance. Instead, flexibility, adaptability, trust and resilience seem to be factors of success, in particular vis-à-vis external shocks or disruptive forces (a pandemic, abrupt technological changes, wars…). Such disruptions may hit a pre-exiting equilibrium, bringing to the light dimensions unforeseen by the existing social contract and putting it under stress. In such situations, the social contract could withstand, in the case of better prepared societies, and continue delivering after necessary adaptations, or alternatively could break up, not resisting the pressure, and open the door to the establishment of a new contract through some dramatic or arduous exercise. In order to identify the factors that drive, or contribute to, the social success of certain societies and their social contract models, proposals are invited to use narrative approaches (historical, legal, anthropological methods and analysis) or data-driven / computer-based approaches, or mixed approaches. In terms of the geographical scope of the research, proposals should focus on EU and/or Member States societies, while international cooperation allowing comparative perspectives in view of extrapolations relevant to EU policies is also encouraged. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged. read more |
Expected results |
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Regions / countries for funding | EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Island (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom |
eligible entities | EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) |
Mandatory partnership | Yes |
Project Partnership | To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic. A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality. Specific cases:
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Additional information
Topics |
Demographic Change, European Citizenship, Migration, Equal Rights, Human Rights, People with Disabilities, Social Inclusion, Justice, Safety & Security |
Relevance for EU Macro-Region | EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region |
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) |
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Additional Information | All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible. Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc. The application form will have two parts:
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system). The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages. |
Call documents | HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 2, Destination 1 (1125kB) |
Contact | National Contact Points for Horizon Europe Website |
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