Improving fairness in the economy through a better understanding of undeclared and underdeclared work

The grant opportunity HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-05 aims to enhance understanding of undeclared and underdeclared work to foster economic fairness. This initiative is part of Horizon Europe's Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society cluster and particularly targets multidisciplinary research and innovation within social sciences and labor economics. Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, NGOs, and public entities, while SMEs and large enterprises may also participate if their objectives align with the research goals.

The funding mechanism is primarily a lump-sum grant, with the expected EU contribution ranging from 3 to 5 million euros per project, and a total indicative budget of approximately 15 million euros for the topic. Proposals must include at least three independent entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries, owing to the grant's classification as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA).

The project scope emphasizes addressing the complexities surrounding undeclared work, including its social and economic implications. Applications should aim to provide tangible insights into the prevalence and characteristics of undeclared work as well as formulate actionable policy recommendations. The research may also explore factors contributing to undeclared work, examine the effects of disruptive technologies on labor practices, and address social equity issues including gender disparities.

The grant process is a single-stage open call with a submission deadline set for September 16, 2025. There is no co-funding required, and the projects are expected to include innovative approaches, possibly integrating findings from behavioral research, digital platforms, and machine learning methods.

The initiative aims to equip policymakers with the knowledge necessary for formulating targeted interventions while recognizing the inputs of diverse stakeholders in addressing undeclared labor issues. Through this grant, the EU seeks to develop evidence-based solutions that can mitigate labor market injustices and reinforce social protection systems across the region.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society domain for 2025. The topic, HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-05, aims to improve fairness in the economy by enhancing the understanding of undeclared and underdeclared work. This is a Horizon Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) with a single-stage submission process. The call opened on May 15, 2025, and has a deadline of September 16, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time. The Model Grant Agreement is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant.

The expected outcomes of the projects should include providing policymakers and social partners with insights into the scope and characteristics of undeclared work, as well as actionable advice on effective policy measures to reduce its prevalence and adverse social consequences.

The scope of the call addresses the issue that undeclared work and the evasion of compulsory payments linked to workers' remuneration hinder a fair social market economy and reduce the sustainability of social protection systems. It acknowledges that the proliferation of disruptive technologies, increased presence of third-country nationals, and rising living costs contribute to labor market volatility, inequality, and unfair practices, including undeclared work and evasion of compulsory payments.

The Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) research activities are expected to be multidisciplinary. Proposals should advance research on the scope, volume, and characteristics of undeclared work and the evasion of compulsory payments. Subsequent research should enhance the understanding of the causes and structural drivers behind actors’ willingness to engage in these practices. The research projects should contribute to the evidence-based assessment of policies seeking to tackle these issues.

The geographical focus should comprise a group of economies with a heterogeneous prevalence of undeclared work, and proposals are encouraged to consider the impact of disruptive technologies such as digital platforms, cloud computing, and generative artificial intelligence on the proliferation and changing features of undeclared work.

The proposals may focus on methods to address social desirability bias in public surveys, experiments and counterfactual analysis to measure the impact of policy interventions, mechanisms for efficient cooperation among national authorities, opportunities for using machine learning, undeclared work in the platform economy, undeclared work among mobile workers, insights from behavioral research, social-demographic typologies of undeclared work, and establishing a systematic link between undeclared work and taxation or social security systems. They may also examine gender and social stratification variations in the nature of undeclared work.

Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects are strongly encouraged. Where applicable, proposals should leverage data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, as well as data from relevant Data Spaces, ensuring that the data produced is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable (FAIR).

Regarding general conditions, the proposal page limits and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and in Part B of the Application Form. The page limit for Part B of the Research and Innovation (RIA) application using a lump sum is 50 pages, and a detailed budget table must be submitted.

Eligible countries are 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, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Other eligible conditions are also described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described 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 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. Additional information is available in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application form templates and evaluation form templates are available in the Submission System. Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide. Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include the Lump Sum MGA. Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) version 3.3, and guidance on lump sums. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025, 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, the EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions.

The budget overview indicates that the total budget for the HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-05 topic is 10,200,000 EUR, with an indicative contribution of around 3,400,000 EUR per grant and an indicative number of 3 grants. The opening date for submissions is May 15, 2025, and the deadline is September 16, 2025.

There are 26 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on funding research and innovation actions to improve the understanding and measurement of undeclared work and the evasion of compulsory payments, with the goal of providing policymakers with actionable advice to reduce these practices and their negative impacts on the economy and society. The call encourages multidisciplinary approaches, the use of disruptive technologies, and the leveraging of European research infrastructures. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the application process is a single-stage submission with a deadline of September 16, 2025. The call is open to eligible countries as defined in the Horizon Europe program, and it encourages clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given that the funding is provided under Horizon Europe for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), the eligible applicants are likely to include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other organizations capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The mention of "social partners" suggests that NGOs and other civil society organizations could also be eligible.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. The call also includes HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The text encourages clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects, suggesting that consortia are preferred, but it does not explicitly state whether a single applicant is excluded. Therefore, it is possible that both single applicants and consortia are eligible, but consortia are strongly encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on EU member states and associated countries. The text mentions "third-countries" and "non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding" but indicates that some of these countries have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects. Therefore, the primary geographic eligibility is EU and associated countries, with potential eligibility for specific non-EU countries.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society, labor market, economics, social science, technology, artificial intelligence, gig economy, social protection, taxation, and social security. The specific focus is on improving fairness in the economy by addressing undeclared and underdeclared work.

Mentioned Countries: The text mentions "EU member states," "non-EU countries," and "associated countries." It also refers to "third-country nationals in the Member States." Therefore, the countries implicitly mentioned are EU member states and associated countries, with a general reference to non-EU third countries.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity includes research, innovation, and coordination. The call is for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), indicating that projects should be in the research, development, validation, or demonstration stages.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and type of action (RIA or CSA). The indicative funding ranges are:
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA):
around €2,000,000 (one grant)
€2,500,000 to €3,000,000 (one grant)
€3,000,000 to €3,500,000 (one grant)
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA):
around €3,400,000 (three grants)
€3,000,000 to €3,500,000 (two or three grants)
€3,000,000 to €4,000,000 (three grants)
€3,000,000 to €5,000,000 (three grants)
€4,000,000 to €5,000,000 (three grants)
HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA):
€2,500,000 to €4,000,000 (eight grants)

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 lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned.

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

Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society program, aims to fund projects that address undeclared and underdeclared work to improve fairness in the economy. The call includes various topics under the HORIZON-CL2-2025-01 framework, covering Democracy, Heritage, and Transformations. It supports both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). The geographic focus is on EU member states and associated countries, with potential eligibility for specific non-EU third countries. Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, SMEs, and other organizations capable of conducting research and innovation activities. Funding is provided as lump sum grants, with amounts varying depending on the type of action and specific topic, ranging from around €2,000,000 for CSAs to €3,000,000 to €5,000,000 for RIAs and €2,500,000 to €4,000,000 for IAs. The application process is a single-stage open call, and consortia are strongly encouraged. The projects should contribute to providing policymakers and social partners with insights and actionable advice on tackling undeclared work and its adverse social consequences, considering the impact of disruptive technologies and new forms of employment.