ScaleDem Scaling Grounds: Piloting Programme

The ScaleDem Scaling Grounds Piloting Programme is an initiative under the Horizon Europe framework, specifically targeting the HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12 call. This program is designed to support the practical implementation and testing of democratic innovations aimed at addressing current democratic challenges. The total funding available for this call is 500,000 EUR, with individual pilot projects eligible for grants of up to 100,000 EUR each. The call opens on December 1, 2025, and applications must be submitted by March 31, 2026.

Eligible applicants include public authorities, civil society organizations, non-profits, research institutions, universities, think tanks, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Both individual organizations and consortia can apply. The program emphasizes end-users who have direct experience with democratic practices rather than purely academic researchers.

The projects funded under this program are meant to run for up to 12 months, from October 2026 to September 2027. They should aim to identify specific scaling challenges and implement activities that test new participatory mechanisms, such as citizen assemblies or digital consultation platforms, measuring their effectiveness against several scaling dimensions: High (impact on policy), Out (wider reach), Deep (changing cultural attitudes), and In (improving process quality).

The application process involves a two-stage selection, beginning with a written proposal, followed by an online pitch for shortlisted candidates evaluated by an independent jury. This jury assesses proposals based on criteria such as relevance, impact, team quality, resource allocation, and sustainability.

No co-funding is required, and the selected applicants will receive both financial support and non-monetary services including capacity-building, mentorship, and networking opportunities from the ScaleDem consortium. Overall, this program aims to bridge research and practice in democratic governance, promoting innovative solutions to enhance democratic participation across Europe. Further details, including a guide for applicants and important documents, will be available on the ScaleDem website, with informative sessions scheduled in early January 2026.

The ScaleDem Scaling Grounds Piloting Programme is a Horizon Europe CSA (Coordination and Support Action) initiative designed to support real-world testing of innovative ideas to scale democratic innovations and address current democratic challenges. This program targets end-users such as public authorities, civil society organizations, practitioners, and others who aim to experiment with new methods of scaling participatory and deliberative practices, particularly those derived from previous EU-funded research. The legal basis for this call is the Horizon Europe CSA ScaleDem – Scaling Democratic Innovations (GA No. 101178637), and it operates under the Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) provisions.

The opening date for the call is December 1, 2025, and the deadline for applications is March 31, 2026, at 23:59 Brussels time. The call follows a single-stage submission model. The total funding available for this call is 500,000 EUR. The project acronym is SCALEDEM, and the full name of the EU-funded project is Scaling Democratic Innovations. The grant agreement number is 101178637. The topic is HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12, which focuses on testing and implementation of research results fostering democracy and governance.

Each selected pilot project will receive a lump-sum grant of up to 100,000 EUR. In addition to financial support, projects will benefit from capacity-building, peer-to-peer exchange, and mentoring provided by the ScaleDem consortium. The program aims to fund up to 5 pilot projects. The duration of each pilot project is up to 12 months, running between October 2026 and September 2027. During this period, the project team must identify concrete scaling challenges, test solutions that address at least one of ScaleDem’s four scaling dimensions (High, Out, Deep, In), implement practical activities in a real-world context (e.g., adapting or expanding citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting processes, digital participation tools, local dialogue formats), and document results, challenges, and lessons learned to contribute to ScaleDem’s emerging Theory of Scaling.

Eligible applicants include public authorities, civil society and non-profit organizations, research institutions, universities, think tanks, SMEs, and similar innovation-driven stakeholders established in countries eligible under the call HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12. Applications can be submitted by single organizations or consortia.

The application process involves submitting applications via the online form available on the ScaleDem website. Applicants are encouraged to use the Decision Helper/Declaration of Interest tool to clarify their eligibility before submitting a full application. The ScaleDem team will conduct an eligibility check after the submission deadline, assessing factors such as the applicant's country, type of organization, completeness of the form, and required declarations. Only eligible and complete applications will proceed to the evaluation phase.

Eligible pilot proposals are evaluated by an independent jury comprising the project's Scientific Advisory Board, End-User Advisory Board, randomly selected citizens, and consortium partners. The evaluation process begins with scoring based on the written application. Shortlisted applicants are then invited to an online pitch/interview, where they present their pilot project, explain how it will scale democratic innovations across the four scaling dimensions (High, Out, Deep, In), and answer questions from the jury. The jury uses both the written application and the interview to create a final ranked list of pilot projects for funding. Selected applicants will then be invited to sign a Sub-Grant Agreement.

Pilot projects are evaluated based on five criteria: Relevance (clarity of objectives and target groups, alignment with ScaleDem’s aims and scaling framework), Impact (potential to address a real democratic challenge and generate meaningful, replicable results), Team quality (capacity of the team to implement the proposed activities successfully), Justified resource allocation (coherence between the requested budget, activities, and expected results), and Sustainability (prospects for lasting use or further development of the pilot’s outcomes).

The indicative timeline for the Piloting call is as follows: Call opening on December 1, 2025; Application deadline on March 31, 2026 (23:59, local time of the applicant); Notification of results around July 2026; Sub-grant agreements signed by September 2026; and the start of pilot activities in autumn 2026.

Further information and detailed documents, including the Guide for Applicants, Q&A Document, Note on Legal and IP Framework, and the online application form, are available on the ScaleDem website. Two informative sessions are scheduled for January: January 20, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM CET, and January 29, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM CET. For questions regarding the call content or process, applicants can contact opencalls@scaledem.eu.

In summary, the ScaleDem Piloting Programme is an EU-funded initiative under Horizon Europe aimed at fostering democratic innovation by providing financial and mentoring support to pilot projects that test and scale participatory and deliberative practices. The program encourages experimentation with new approaches to address democratic challenges, focusing on scaling innovations in terms of reach, depth, and impact. It is open to a wide range of stakeholders, including public authorities, civil society organizations, research institutions, and SMEs, and offers grants of up to 100,000 EUR per pilot project, along with capacity-building and networking opportunities. The application process involves a thorough evaluation based on relevance, impact, team quality, resource allocation, and sustainability, with selected projects contributing to the development of a Theory of Scaling for democratic innovations.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are public authorities, civil society and non-profit organizations, research institutions, universities, think tanks, SMEs and similar innovation-driven stakeholders.

Funding Type: The funding type is a lump-sum grant.

Consortium Requirement: Applications may be submitted by single organizations or consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Applicants must be established in countries eligible under the call HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12. The specific eligible countries are not listed in the provided text, but the eligibility is tied to the HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12 call.

Target Sector: The target sector is democracy and governance, specifically scaling democratic innovations and addressing current democratic challenges. It involves participatory and deliberative practices.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but eligibility is tied to countries eligible under the Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12.

Project Stage: The expected project stage is piloting, involving real-world testing and implementation of research results.

Funding Amount: The funding amount is up to EUR 100,000 per pilot. The total funding available is EUR 500,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump-sum grant, along with non-monetary services such as capacity-building, peer-to-peer exchange, and mentoring from the ScaleDem consortium.

Application Stages: The application process involves multiple stages: submission via online form, eligibility check, evaluation by an independent jury based on the written application, online pitch/interview for shortlisted applicants, and final ranking by the jury. Selected applicants are then invited to sign a Sub-Grant Agreement.

Success Rates: Up to 5 pilots will be funded, and the total funding available is 500,000 EUR. The success rate cannot be determined precisely from the provided information, but it will likely be below 10% given the limited number of pilots funded and the presumably large number of potential applicants.

Co-funding Requirement: The information provided does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

The ScaleDem Piloting Programme is an open call under the Horizon Europe program, specifically the HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12 topic. It aims to support real-world testing of innovative ideas to scale democratic innovations and address current democratic challenges. The program targets end-users such as public authorities, civil society organizations, research institutions, universities, think tanks, and SMEs. The selected pilot projects will receive a lump-sum grant of up to EUR 100,000, along with capacity-building, peer-to-peer exchange, and mentoring from the ScaleDem consortium. Up to 5 pilot projects will be funded. The projects should run for up to 12 months, identifying scaling challenges, implementing practical activities, and documenting results. The application process involves submitting a proposal through an online form, followed by an eligibility check, evaluation by an independent jury, and an online pitch/interview for shortlisted applicants. The call opened on December 1, 2025, and the deadline for applications is March 31, 2026. The program seeks to support projects that can scale democratic innovations in at least one of four dimensions: High, Out, Deep, and In. The projects should also contribute to ScaleDem’s emerging Theory of Scaling. Two informative sessions will be held in January 2026 to provide more information to potential applicants.