Adapting to and mitigating demographic trends in rural areas through evidence-based planning and innovative solutions

The grant opportunity HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-01 is part of the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting rural areas in the EU to address demographic challenges. The goal is to support innovative, evidence-based planning and implement strategies focusing on sustainability and resilience in these communities.

Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public-private partnerships, and local or regional authorities engaged in rural development. The funding type is a non-repayable grant under the HORIZON-AG framework, specifically for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).

A consortium of multiple entities is required for application, with proposals needing to adopt a multi-actor approach. Geographic eligibility centers on EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some non-EU countries as specified in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

The target sectors include rural development, demographic resilience, and social sciences, with an emphasis on climate adaptation and sustainable development. Although specific countries are not mentioned, the focus is on projects that address various demographics in rural areas.

Projects must be in the development and validation stages, emphasizing prototyping and testing innovative solutions. The funding amount is likely to range from €1 million to €5 million per project, based on similar grants, but the exact budget is unspecified. The call operates as a single-stage open application process, with a submission deadline of September 16, 2025.

Support is financial, and proposals can allocate up to €60,000 for third-party funding to assist in developing sustainable solutions. Success rates for Horizon Europe grants are typically low, estimated between 10% and 39%.

Overall, the call seeks projects that improve understanding of demographic trends, foster community engagement through evidence-based strategies, and encourage innovative, sustainable solutions to enhance rural community well-being and attractiveness. The multi-actor collaboration should involve various stakeholders, ensuring inclusivity and consideration of social categories like gender in project planning. Proposals must also align with the EU’s Green Deal and incorporate digital tools to aid in addressing these demographic challenges.

This is a Horizon Europe (HORIZON) call, specifically Cluster 6 Call 02, which is a single-stage call. The call aims to support the long-term vision for EU's rural areas, empower rural communities for transformative change, promote sustainability and resilience, and enable them to manage and adapt to changing populations.

The expected outcomes of successful proposals include: improved understanding of the causes and impacts of demographic trends in rural areas by all relevant actors, preparedness of rural communities to respond to demographic challenges through evidence-based planning and inclusive stakeholder engagement, and improved well-being and attractiveness of rural areas through sustainable and innovative solutions.

The scope of the call is focused on rural areas, which constitute over 80% of the EU territory and host approximately 30% of its population. These areas provide essential ecosystem services, play a crucial role in the green and digital transitions, and face demographic challenges such as negative population change and seasonal population variations.

Proposals should address the following: advancing the understanding of the causes and impacts of demographic trends, supporting rural communities through evidence-based strategies, and finding innovative solutions to mitigate and adapt to a changing population, with particular attention to areas highly exposed to climate change effects. Funded consortia are expected to collect evidence for better planning and develop long-term strategies for managing population changes, considering the needs of rural communities through an inclusive multi-actor approach, and ensuring consideration of gender and other social categories.

Proposals should test, develop, and pilot innovative sustainable solutions that improve the well-being of rural communities, focusing on providing or co-creating innovative services, fostering sustainable development of strategic sectors, and supporting job creation. Financial support to third parties is allowed, with a maximum amount of EUR 60 000 per third party, specifically for the development, testing, and piloting of sustainable solutions.

Proposals should focus on the sustainability and replicability of strategies and solutions, and develop an accessible tool, utilizing digital technologies, to support local and regional decision-makers in assessing demographic impacts and planning for the future with evidence-based strategies. The multi-actor approach must be implemented, involving relevant stakeholders such as public authorities, rural communities, SMEs, organizations, and social economy actors.

Proposals should build on research from the EU rural observatory and relevant Horizon Europe projects, and link with the demographic toolbox. The call requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH), including gender studies, and encourages consideration of services offered by European research infrastructures like the European social survey (ESS ERIC).

The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Additional eligibility criteria include the application of the multi-actor approach.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D, while submission and evaluation processes are detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F. The legal and financial set-up of the grants, including financial support to third parties, is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, with standard evaluation form templates to be used with necessary adaptations. Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (MGA), call-specific instructions, and information on financial support to third parties.

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview lists several topics under the call, including HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-01 to HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-05, HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-01 to HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-04, and HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01 to HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-17. Each topic specifies the type of action (HORIZON-RIA, HORIZON-IA, or HORIZON-COFUND), the budget for the year 2025, the stage (single-stage), the opening and deadline dates (May 6, 2025, and September 16, 2025, respectively), and the indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests.

This Horizon Europe call focuses on addressing the demographic challenges faced by rural areas in the EU. It seeks to fund projects that can provide evidence-based planning, innovative solutions, and sustainable strategies to empower rural communities, improve their well-being, and enhance their resilience in the face of changing populations and climate change effects. The call encourages a multi-actor approach, involving various stakeholders, and emphasizes the importance of social sciences, humanities, and digital technologies in developing effective and replicable solutions. The opportunity allows for financial support to be given to third parties for the development, testing, and piloting of sustainable solutions, with a maximum grant amount of EUR 60 000 per third party.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity is open to public authorities, rural communities, SMEs, organizations, and social economy actors. The multi-actor approach is a key eligibility criterion, implying a diverse range of stakeholders can be involved. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible, subject to specific provisions outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding Type: The primary funding type is a grant, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND). Financial support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required. The call specifies that "The funded consortium should work on..." and "Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach," indicating that multiple entities must collaborate.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic focus is on EU rural areas. However, non-EU and non-associated countries may be eligible for funding based on specific provisions in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets multiple sectors, including agriculture/food (specifically through the "Farm to Fork" strategy), climate, communities, environment, social sciences and humanities (SSH), and digital technologies. It aims to address demographic changes, promote sustainable development, and improve the well-being of rural communities.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on EU rural areas and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries based on Horizon Europe Programme Guide provisions. The region is the EU.

Project Stage: The project stage encompasses a range from development and validation to demonstration and piloting of innovative sustainable solutions. Proposals should test, develop, and pilot solutions, indicating a need for projects beyond the initial idea stage.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €2,000,000 to €50,000,000. The indicative number of grants also varies per topic. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants. Financial support may be provided to third parties in the form of grants for development, testing and piloting of sustainable solutions.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants per topic is provided, allowing for a rough estimation based on the expected number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is required for HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND).

Summary: This Horizon Europe Cluster 6 call focuses on "Adapting to and mitigating demographic trends in rural areas through evidence-based planning and innovative solutions." It seeks to support the long-term vision for EU rural areas by empowering rural communities to become more sustainable and resilient. The call encourages projects that address demographic challenges, improve the well-being of rural communities, and enhance the attractiveness of rural areas. Projects should advance the understanding of the causes and impacts of demographic trends, develop evidence-based strategies, and pilot innovative solutions. A multi-actor approach is mandatory, involving public authorities, rural communities, SMEs, organizations, and social economy actors. The call encompasses various topics related to climate, communities, and the "Farm to Fork" strategy, with funding ranging from 2 million to 50 million euros depending on the action type (RIA, IA, CSA, COFUND). The application process is a single-stage open call, and successful projects may provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants up to 60,000 euros. This call aims to foster transformative change in EU rural areas, ensuring their sustainability and resilience in the face of evolving demographic landscapes.