Assessment methodologies for General Purpose AI capabilities and risks (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

The grant opportunity focuses on developing assessment methodologies for General Purpose AI capabilities and risks, as part of the Horizon Europe program under Cluster 4, which emphasizes digital, industry, and space technologies. It aims to support research and innovation actions (RIA) that enhance the evaluation of AI systems, particularly concerning their safety and ethical implications.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and consortia that promote interdisciplinary collaboration, specifically engaging experts from the social sciences and humanities. Geographic eligibility extends to legal entities in EU member states, EEA countries, and several associated nations such as Canada, Israel, South Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

This grant operates with a funding range of €6-8 million per project, leveraging a total budget that varies by specific call topics. The application process is a single-stage open call, with proposals due by October 2, 2025, and expected to demonstrate adherence to Open Science practices.

The primary goal is to advance the development of frameworks that assess AI's capabilities and risks, ensuring compliance with upcoming regulations such as the AI Act. Projects will emphasize the importance of developing robust validation methodologies for General Purpose AI and will need to integrate with existing European initiatives and partnerships.

Overall, the funding opportunity encourages collaborative, interdisciplinary research aimed at fostering innovation in AI, ensuring systems are trustworthy, ethical, and aligned with societal values. This includes an emphasis on producing shareable research outcomes and contributing to ongoing evaluations in AI technology.

This is a summary of several Horizon Europe calls for proposals related to digital, industry, and space, specifically focusing on artificial intelligence, data, and robotics. The calls are part of the DIGITAL - HADEA (HORIZON-CL4-2025-04) initiative and are structured as single-stage actions with a planned opening date of June 10, 2025, and a deadline of October 2, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The calls cover a range of topics, including:

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DATA-02: This call focuses on HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) related to data. It has a budget of 30,000,000 EUR, with contributions ranging from 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 4.

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DATA-03: This call also focuses on HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) related to data. It has a budget of 15,000,000 EUR, with contributions ranging from 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 3.

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01: This call focuses on HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA) related to digital emerging technologies. It has a budget of 25,000,000 EUR, with contributions ranging from 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 5.

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-04: This call focuses on HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) related to digital emerging technologies, specifically assessment methodologies for General Purpose AI capabilities and risks within the AI/Data/Robotics Partnership. It has a budget of 7,000,000 EUR, with contributions ranging from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 2. The scope includes developing new assessment and validation methodologies for General Purpose AI (GPAI) models, including multimodal systems, to evaluate their capabilities and risks. It also aims to support the AI Office in enforcing the AI Act's rules and facilitating self-evaluation for GPAI model developers. Research areas include innovative methods for identifying and forecasting emergent capabilities, assessing GPAI capabilities with economic impact or potential for misuse, and developing assessment techniques that emphasize interpretability and explainability.

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-05: This call focuses on HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA) related to digital emerging technologies. It has a budget of 20,000,000 EUR, with contributions around 10,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 2.

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-07: This call focuses on HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) related to digital emerging technologies. It has a budget of 30,000,000 EUR, with contributions around 15,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 2.

HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-HUMAN-08: This call focuses on HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) related to human aspects. It has a budget of 5,000,000 EUR, with contributions ranging from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 EUR per project. The indicative number of grants is 2.

General conditions for these calls include admissibility requirements related to 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 detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Participation is limited to legal entities from Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Entities controlled by non-eligible countries may participate only if they can demonstrate that their involvement will not negatively impact the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award processes, including criteria, scoring, thresholds, submission, and indicative timelines, are detailed in Annex D and Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Legal and financial aspects are covered in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the specific topic descriptions.

Applicants are encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams and involve SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) experts to enhance the societal impact of their research. Proposals must adhere to Horizon Europe's Open Science requirements, providing open access to research outputs unless justified otherwise. Projects should incorporate mechanisms for assessing progress, including KPIs and benchmarking, and share communicable results through platforms like the AI-on-demand platform. Collaboration with the ADRA partnership and the GenAI4EU central Hub is expected, as well as synergies with other relevant initiatives, including the Digital Europe Programme (DEP).

Application forms are available in the Submission System, with standard templates for HE RIA and IA actions. Evaluation form templates will be adapted as necessary. Guidance is provided through the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements (MGA). Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025 and various regulations and guidelines related to Horizon Europe.

The Funding & Tenders Portal offers resources such as an Online Manual, FAQs, a Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, the Enterprise Europe Network, an IT Helpdesk, and IPR and Standards Helpdesks. Partner search tools are also available to help applicants find suitable collaborators.

In summary, this funding opportunity aims to advance the development and assessment of trustworthy and ethical AI models, particularly GPAI and multimodal systems, by supporting research and innovation actions that address key challenges in identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential risks associated with these technologies. It encourages collaboration, interdisciplinary approaches, and open science practices to ensure that AI development aligns with human values and benefits society.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are legal entities established in Member States, Iceland and Norway and the following additional associated countries: Canada, Israel, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Entities directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity may be restricted unless guarantees are provided. The call specifies that interdisciplinary teams are strongly encouraged, and the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions is required.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The type of Model Grant Agreement is a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity strongly encourages the formation of interdisciplinary teams. This suggests that a consortium is preferred, although the text does not explicitly exclude single applicants.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is limited to legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Target Sector: The target sector is digital, specifically focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), data, and robotics. The specific focus is on the assessment methodologies for General Purpose AI (GPAI) capabilities and risks, including multimodal systems. It also touches upon security/cybersecurity with the mention of CBRN hazards. The call also requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines, which implies a target on social sciences and humanities.

Mentioned Countries: Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The EU Member States are also eligible.

Project Stage: The project stage is research and innovation actions, which implies a focus on development, validation, and demonstration. The call also mentions the development of assessment tools, techniques, and benchmarks, suggesting a stage of development and validation.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call:
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DATA-02: €6,000,000 to €8,000,000 (Total budget: €30,000,000)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DATA-03: €4,000,000 to €6,000,000 (Total budget: €15,000,000)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01: €4,000,000 to €6,000,000 (Total budget: €25,000,000)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-04: €3,000,000 to €4,000,000 (Total budget: €7,000,000)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-05: around €10,000,000 (Total budget: €20,000,000)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-07: around €15,000,000 (Total budget: €30,000,000)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-HUMAN-08: €1,000,000 to €2,000,000 (Total budget: €5,000,000)

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

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to fund their research and innovation actions.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates can be estimated based on the indicative number of grants and the total budget for each topic. For example, HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-04 has a budget of 7,000,000 EUR and aims to fund 2 projects, while HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01 has a budget of 25,000,000 EUR and aims to fund 5 projects. The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but can be estimated based on the number of proposals received and the number of grants awarded.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

This Horizon Europe call, under the DIGITAL - HADEA (HORIZON-CL4-2025-04) call, focuses on "Assessment methodologies for General Purpose AI capabilities and risks (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)". It seeks to fund projects that will develop new assessment and validation methodologies for evaluating General Purpose AI (GPAI) models, including multimodal systems. The goal is to ensure these AI systems are trustworthy, ethical, reliable, fair, and aligned with human values. The call encourages interdisciplinary teams and requires the involvement of experts from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). Eligible applicants are legal entities from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The funding is provided through HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA), with varying budgets and grant amounts for different topics. The application process is single-stage, with a planned opening date of June 10, 2025, and a deadline of October 2, 2025. The projects should contribute to the AI Office's function to conduct evaluations of general purpose AI models with a view to enforce the AI Act' rules for general purpose AI models and facilitate self-evaluation for GPAI model developers to ensure compliance with AI Act requirements. The call also emphasizes the importance of Open Science practices and the sharing of research outcomes with the European R&D community.