Improving mental health outcomes for people in education, training and work

The EU's Horizon Europe program is offering funding opportunities for 2025 under the call HORIZON-CL2-2025-01, focusing on improving mental health outcomes for individuals in education, training, and work settings. This call encompasses various topics aimed at addressing societal challenges related to mental health, democracy, and social inclusion, with a total indicative budget of 15 million euros.

Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, non-governmental organizations, and public-private partnerships involved in relevant fields. The funding is categorized as a grant under the Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) mechanism, with amounts ranging from 3 million to 5 million euros per project. A consortium is typically required, as Horizon Europe encourages collaboration across multiple countries.

The application process is single-stage, with a submission deadline set for September 16, 2025. Funding supports projects at the research and development stages aiming to develop scalable and effective mental health interventions that can be integrated into educational and professional contexts. The call seeks solutions that not only improve mental health outcomes but also provide policymakers with the data necessary for making informed decisions.

Projects that are funded should demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration, practical applicability, and the capacity to address systemic barriers to mental health. There is no co-funding required for these grants, and while the success rate is not explicitly stated, it is typically competitive within the 10 to 39 percent range for similar calls.

The overarching aim is to provide evidence-based strategies for enhancing mental health among various population groups, particularly focusing on youth and those facing mental health challenges. Proposals should leverage existing data, align with the goals of the Cluster 2 framework of Horizon Europe, and ensure that research findings are communicated effectively to stakeholders. The emphasis is placed on finding solutions that facilitate social inclusion and improve overall well-being through effective mental health support strategies.

The EU's Horizon Europe program is offering funding opportunities in 2025 under the Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society call (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01). The focus is on improving mental health outcomes for people in education, training, and work. The call includes various topics related to democracy, heritage, and societal transformations, each with its own budget, action type (Research and Innovation Actions RIA, Coordination and Support Actions CSA, or Innovation Actions IA), and indicative number of grants. All topics follow a single-stage submission process with an opening date of 15 May 2025 and a deadline of 16 September 2025.

The expected outcomes for the "Improving mental health outcomes for people in education, training and work" topic (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-08) include:

Scalable and replicable integrated person-centred interventions on mental health, transferable to education, training, and work contexts, with comparative impact studies.

Integrated person-centred interventions for all population segments and age groups, especially youth with mental health conditions, to improve their education, training, and work trajectories and ensure social inclusion.

Viable tools for authorities, policymakers, key stakeholders, and practitioners to make evidence-based decisions for implementation, benefiting mental health outcomes in education, training, and work, including effectiveness and health economics data.

Quality evidence-based data for policymakers and research stakeholders to bridge the gap between mental health outcomes and socio-economic transition.

The scope of the topic addresses the fact that 84 million European citizens, from youth to the elderly, across all socio-economic backgrounds and genders, including vulnerable groups, experience mental health issues affecting their lives at home, work, school, and online. Mental health foundations are often laid in adolescence, with half of all conditions starting by age 14, often undetected and untreated. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people aged 15-19, after road accidents. Addressing mental health is crucial for improving education, training, work, and future socio-economic outcomes, representing a long-term public health investment.

While many innovative solutions for mental health problems have been developed through EU Framework Programmes and other initiatives, few have been implemented at scale. Evidence is lacking regarding the feasibility, acceptability, and suitability of these interventions at scale. The challenges include significantly increasing the percentage of interventions actually used and involving families, individuals/communities, stakeholders, and authorities in the development and implementation of interventions.

Additional evidence is needed on the cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of mental health interventions from various policy perspectives, such as education, training, working life, well-being, and health. This would help policymakers make informed investment decisions. Projects should target primary prevention (benefitting entire target groups) and/or secondary prevention (for vulnerable groups and individuals with existing mental health problems), clearly outlining and justifying the target groups, interventions, and contexts.

Special attention should be given to the visibility and communication of research findings to beneficiaries, families, communities, and stakeholders from the start. Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged. Projects are expected to take 4 years or more to deliver solid evidence, justifying an appropriate budget per project. Proposals should leverage data and services from the European Open Science Cloud and relevant Data Spaces, ensuring data is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).

General conditions for participation include:

Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit of 50 pages for Part B of the RIA application using lump sum, with a mandatory detailed budget table.

Eligible Countries: As 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.

Other Eligible Conditions: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Submission and evaluation processes: As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information:

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including a standard application form (HE RIA, IA).

Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including a standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA).

Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, and a detailed budget table (HE LS) version 3.3, along with guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025 sections on General Introduction, Culture, creativity and inclusive society and General Annexes, the HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme, 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 various topics under the call, including HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-08, which has a budget of 15,000,000 EUR for 2025, is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), follows a single-stage process, opens on 15 May 2025, closes on 16 September 2025, and aims to award 3 grants with contributions ranging from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 EUR.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the Portal.

To start the submission process, click on the submission button next to the appropriate action type and model grant agreement.

For help, consult the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on funding research and innovation projects that aim to improve mental health outcomes in Europe, particularly for young people, by scaling up effective interventions and providing evidence-based tools for policymakers. The call encourages collaborative projects that leverage existing data and resources, involve stakeholders, and address the cost-effectiveness of mental health interventions in education, training, and work settings. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and proposals must adhere to specific guidelines regarding eligibility, admissibility, and evaluation criteria. The overall goal is to bridge the gap between mental health research and practical implementation, leading to better socio-economic outcomes for European citizens.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity does not explicitly list eligible applicant types. However, given the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), eligible applicants could include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, non-profit organizations, and other relevant entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities or providing coordination and support services. The mention of LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment suggests that any legal entity is eligible.

Funding Type: The primary funding mechanism is a grant, specifically through HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) using lump sum grants.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required, but it encourages clustering and cooperation with other projects, suggesting that consortia are welcome and potentially advantageous. Partner search announcements are available, which implies that a consortium is possible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic focus is Europe, as the challenges outlined pertain to European citizens. However, the mention of non-EU/non-Associated Countries with specific provisions suggests that entities from those countries may also be eligible, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets the health sector, specifically mental health, with a focus on improving mental health outcomes in education, training, and work environments. It also touches on the culture, creativity, and inclusive society sectors.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions Europe and non-EU/non-Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The opportunity targets projects that are at the development, validation, and demonstration stages, with an emphasis on scaling up existing innovative solutions and delivering evidence for take-up by policy makers, practitioners, and stakeholders.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and type of action (RIA, IA, CSA), ranging from around €2,000,000 to €5,000,000, and in one case up to €26,000,000. Some topics have a fixed budget, while others provide a range.

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 a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly mentioned, but eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society program, aims to improve mental health outcomes for people in education, training, and work across Europe. It seeks to scale up innovative mental health interventions, involve key stakeholders, and provide evidence-based data for policy decisions. The call includes various topics under the HORIZON-CL2-2025-01 framework, covering Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). Funding ranges from approximately €2,000,000 to €5,000,000 (and up to €26,000,000 for some Innovation Actions), with a single-stage application process and a deadline of September 16, 2025. The call encourages collaboration and clustering of projects, with a focus on delivering scalable, replicable, and person-centered interventions. Eligible applicants can include a wide range of entities from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU countries with specific funding arrangements. The program emphasizes the importance of FAIR data practices and leveraging resources like the European Open Science Cloud.