Impacts of culture and the arts on health and well-being

The grant opportunity HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-09 is part of Horizon Europe, focusing on the impacts of culture and the arts on health and well-being. Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, NGOs, public entities, and cultural organizations within EU member states, EEA countries, and Horizon Europe-associated nations. The funding type is a grant classified as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with a lump sum model, specifically under the HORIZON-AG-LS category.

The call is primarily geared towards initiatives that foster cross-sectoral cooperation among culture, health, social inclusion, education, and humanitarian sectors. While it encourages consortium applications involving multiple sectors, specific requirements for a consortium are not explicitly defined. Projects are expected to contribute around €3.50 million per initiative, with a total indicative budget of €3.50 million for this call.

Applications must be submitted by the deadline of September 16, 2025, through a single-stage open call process. The success rates for Horizon Europe typically range from 10 to 39%, depending on competitiveness. Notably, co-funding is likely not required due to the grant's lump sum nature.

The scope of the projects will likely encompass research, policy development, validation, and implementation of strategies to showcase how cultural and artistic initiatives can enhance societal well-being. Key themes involve the positive influence of arts on mental health, social cohesion, and overall wellness, including considerations for vulnerable groups such as forcibly displaced individuals.

In summary, this grant opportunity aims to promote interdisciplinary projects that leverage arts and culture to address pressing social challenges, supporting methodologies for measuring impact and establishing scalable practices. Projects are encouraged to create platforms for policy discussions, provide practical guidelines, and evaluate interventions related to health and cultural initiatives, ensuring that the generated data meets FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) standards. The overarching goal is to reinforce the societal role of culture and arts while fostering resilience through innovative approaches in research and cooperation.

This is a summary of several Horizon Europe funding opportunities under the Call Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society - 2025 (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01). These opportunities are a mix of HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), as well as HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA), each with its own specific budget, scope, and expected outcomes. The general theme revolves around Democracy, Heritage, and Transformations, with a focus on fostering cross-sectoral cooperation and addressing societal challenges through research and innovation.

Here's a breakdown of the key elements:

General Conditions:

Admissibility Conditions: Proposals must adhere to specific page limits and layouts as detailed in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form. For CSAs using lump sum funding, the page limit for Part B is 33 pages, and a detailed budget table is mandatory.

Eligible Countries: Eligibility is defined in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Some non-EU/non-Associated Countries have specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects, as outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Legal entities from non-associated third countries may exceptionally participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities in CSAs if eligible for funding.

Other Eligible Conditions: Further eligibility conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and Operational Capacity and Exclusion: These aspects are detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and Award:

Award Criteria, Scoring, and Thresholds: The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project per topic. Award criteria are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Submission and Evaluation Processes: These processes are detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

Indicative Timeline: The timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and Financial Set-up: Eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal. Further details are in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific Conditions:

Application and Evaluation Forms and Model Grant Agreement (MGA): Application forms specific to each call are available in the Submission System. Standard application forms (HE CSA) and evaluation forms will be used. Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide. The Model Grant Agreement is a Lump Sum MGA.

Additional Documents: A detailed budget table (HE LS version 3.3) is required, along with guidance on lump sums. Other relevant documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025 (General Introduction, Culture, creativity and inclusive society, and General Annexes), the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, the EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement.

Specific Funding Opportunities:

The following table summarizes the funding opportunities, including their budget, type of action, opening and deadline dates, contribution amounts, and indicative number of grants:

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-01: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 3,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 1

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-02: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 3,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 EUR, Grants: 1

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-03: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-04: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 7,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 2

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-05: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-06: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 3,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 1

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-07: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-08: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-09: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-10: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-11: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-12: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 3,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 1

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-03: HORIZON-IA, Budget: 26,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Grants: 8

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-04: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 15,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-05: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 2,500,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-06: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 13,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,500,000 to 4,500,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-07: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 12,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-08: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 3,500,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 2,500,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Grants: 1

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-09: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 2,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 2,000,000 EUR, Grants: 1

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-01: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-02: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-03: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-05: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-06: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-07: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-08: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 15,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-09: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 3,400,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-10: HORIZON-RIA, Budget: 10,200,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Grants: 3

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-11: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 2,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 2,000,000 EUR, Grants: 1

Impacts of culture and the arts on health and well-being: HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-09: HORIZON-CSA, Budget: 2,000,000 EUR, Opening: 2025-05-15, Deadline: 2025-09-16, Contribution: around 2,000,000 EUR, Grants: 1

The HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-09 topic focuses on the impacts of culture and the arts on health and well-being. Projects funded under this topic should contribute to:

Policy makers at European, national, regional and local levels being aware of the impacts of arts and culture on health, well-being, and social cohesion. They should be equipped with policy recommendations and practical guides to implement cross-sectorial policies and programmes.

Stakeholders from the health, culture, social care, relief/humanitarian, youth, and education sectors being aware of the impacts of arts and culture on health, well-being, and social cohesion. They should be equipped with tools to implement cross-sectorial projects.

Research gaps in this field being documented and explained, furthering R&I implementation science (including in SSH disciplines) by presenting new scalable and replicable best practices.

Policy-makers working in international relations/cooperation being provided with recommendations for promoting EU priorities, culture, and fundamental values abroad through cooperation in culture, health, and well-being.

The scope includes creating a dedicated platform for policy discussions and knowledge exchange on culture and well-being, providing policy guidelines, and evaluating arts and culture-based interventions in areas such as health promotion, mental health, aging population, health and well-being of forcibly displaced people, and links between ill-health and patterns of inequality. Projects should also create an evidence gap map of arts and health research and innovation.

The call emphasizes the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation and the inclusion of arts and culture organizations with experience in this area. It also encourages leveraging data and services available through the European Open Science Cloud and relevant Data Spaces, ensuring data is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to support projects that investigate and promote the positive impacts of culture and the arts on various aspects of society, including health, well-being, social cohesion, and policy development. It seeks to foster collaboration between different sectors and stakeholders, providing them with the knowledge, tools, and policy recommendations needed to implement effective cross-sectoral initiatives. The call covers a wide range of topics from Democracy and cultural heritage to societal transformations, all under the umbrella of fostering a more inclusive and resilient society through research and innovation. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the application process involves a single stage submission with a deadline in September 2025.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include cultural and creative sectors, arts and culture organizations, researchers, and academia of Member State and Associated countries. The call aims to foster cross-sectorial cooperation among cultural, health, social, youth, education, and humanitarian/relief sectors.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as it emphasizes cross-sectorial cooperation and the inclusion of various organizations with experience in different sectors. The proposals should include arts and culture organisations with experience in the area of cross-sectorial collaboration with the other sectors mentioned above.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes Member States and Associated countries. 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. If eligible for funding, legal entities established in non-associated third countries may exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action as a beneficiary or affiliated entity.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors: culture, health, social, youth, education, and humanitarian/relief. It focuses on the intersection of culture and the arts with health and well-being, social cohesion, and policy development. The specific topics mentioned are culture, creativity, and inclusive society.

Mentioned Countries: Ukraine is mentioned in the context of the war of aggression and its impact on the mental health of forcibly displaced people. The EU, Member States, and Associated Countries are also mentioned.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on policy development, research, innovation, and implementation. The call aims to collect new practices and policies, evaluate interventions, map research gaps, and develop mixed models for cooperation. The project stages include research, development, validation, and implementation.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and type of action (CSA, RIA, IA). The budget overview provides the following ranges:
HORIZON-CSA: €2,000,000 to €3,500,000
HORIZON-RIA: €7,000,000 to €15,000,000
HORIZON-IA: €26,000,000

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation of the competition level.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society program, aims to reinforce cross-sectorial cooperation between the cultural, health, social, youth, education, and humanitarian/relief sectors. It seeks to leverage the positive impacts of arts and culture on health, well-being, and social cohesion. The call encourages projects that create platforms for policy discussions, provide policy guidelines, evaluate arts and culture-based interventions, and map research gaps. Eligible applicants include organizations from the cultural and creative sectors, research institutions, and academia from EU Member States and Associated countries. The funding mechanism is a lump sum grant, and the application process is a single-stage open call. The call addresses the importance of culture and arts for the mental health of forcibly displaced people, as well as the contribution of culture to mental health and well-being of individuals and society. The call aims to promote EU priorities, culture, and fundamental values abroad through cooperation in the areas of culture, health, and well-being. The call also aims to leverage data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, as well as data from relevant Data Spaces. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this topic is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).