Scaling and deploying innovations in migration management

The EU funding opportunity HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08 focuses on scaling and deploying innovations in migration management within the framework of the Horizon Europe Programme. This initiative specifically aims to tackle the underutilization of effective tools and methodologies developed in prior EU-funded migration research, facilitating their practical application in policy-making and operational settings.

Eligible applicants for this funding include a range of entities such as research institutions, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises, government bodies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as public-private partnerships. The program encourages collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, especially those who work closely with migration and asylum issues.

The funding mechanism is a grant provided through a lump sum modality, specifically under the HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA). A total budget of €15 million is allocated for this initiative, which is designed to fund approximately four projects, each receiving between €3 million and €3.75 million.

The application process is structured as a single-stage call, with the submission period running from May 13, 2027, to September 23, 2027. Proposals must focus on validating, adapting, and scaling pre-existing solutions developed in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects. Activities may include pilots, policy labs, and other collaborative processes aimed at enhancing the transferability of research into actionable policies.

Although co-funding is not required, participants are encouraged to consider leveraging additional EU funding instruments to amplify project outcomes. The consortium requirement is essential, highlighting the need for diverse stakeholder engagement, including direct involvement from refugee and migrant groups to ensure solutions are aligned with real-world needs.

Success rates are expected to be competitive given the limited number of projects funded against potentially numerous applications. Additionally, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) may join as a consortium member without funding, providing valuable expertise in migration systems.

Overall, this opportunity seeks to establish a robust policy innovation ecosystem that integrates research and practice in migration governance, promoting adaptability and responsiveness in line with EU policies.

This EU funding opportunity, HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08, focuses on scaling and deploying innovations in migration management. It falls under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society call for 2027 (HORIZON-CL2-2027-01). The type of action is HORIZON-IA, which stands for Horizon Innovation Actions, and it utilizes the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement.

The funding opportunity follows a single-stage deadline model with a planned opening date of May 13, 2027, and a deadline of September 23, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include:

Enhanced impact of EU-funded migration research by identifying and scaling up promising innovations, methodologies, and tools from relevant Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects.

A policy innovation ecosystem: Fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to adapt, scale, and deploy validated models, ensuring their scalability, sustainability, and practical application in diverse EU, national and local contexts.

The scope of the funding opportunity is as follows:

Despite significant EU investment in migration research, many innovative solutions to gain insights and foresight remain underutilized in policymaking and practice. This topic aims to bridge that gap by systematically identifying, assessing, and facilitating the adoption of promising approaches developed in past EU-funded migration related projects to ensure a better fungibility between knowledge-oriented activities on past or future trends of migrations and policy making.

Proposals should map and analyse research outputs, methodologies, and innovations from relevant Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe migration projects, selecting those with high potential for policy uptake, operational implementation, market deployment and scaling. Proposals should consider ways to validate, adapt, and scale up these solutions across different governance levels (EU, national, local) and migration-related domains implementing high ethical standards and ensuring fundamental rights and privacy of all individuals affected. Applicants are encouraged to engage key stakeholders - including policymakers, migration practitioners, researchers (including from SSH disciplines), the private sector; groups or individuals that represent the interests of refugees and migrants and the civil society - to ensure that identified innovations align with real-world needs and implementation pathways and taking into account the political, legal, and cultural specificities of each Member State that influence implementation, while ensuring the solutions are transferable across contexts. Proposals are encouraged to take into consideration the assessment of the societal and political impacts as well as recommendations of previously funded Horizon research projects on migration. To that end, proposals are encouraged to carry out a mapping exercise.

Activities may include pilots, policy labs, co-creation processes, or other mechanisms to enhance the transferability of research outcomes into policies and operational frameworks.

A core element of the action will be fostering a structured dialogue between the research community and decision-makers to ensure continuous knowledge transfer and innovation mainstreaming. The initiative should contribute to a more dynamic, responsive and anticipatory EU migration ecosystem in the intersection of policy and research, in line with the objectives of the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration and other relevant policy frameworks.

Proposals may incorporate a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach in their research if relevant, by collecting data based for example on age, ability, ethnic and racial background, sex, socioeconomic status, and religion or belief to ensure that identified migration-related innovations align with real-world needs of people in migratory situation.

Proposals should delineate the plans for further applications of the knowledge, solutions and findings generated by their research at national and EU level. Knowledge and findings may be used with EU co-financing of instruments such as the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and/or subsequent funding instruments.

Proposals may envisage JRC participation, particularly to support the assessment of relevance, scalability and uptake of innovative solutions in migration management. The JRC could contribute with its knowledge of EU's migration systems, foresight, and capacity to bridge research and policymaking.

The general conditions for this funding opportunity are as follows:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may exist for non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions: The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as part of the consortium with zero funding or as an associated partner, but will not participate in proposal preparation or submission.

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

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the action's end. Eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Specific conditions for this topic are described in the Work Programme.

The application and evaluation forms, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. The standard application form is for HE RIA/IA actions, and the standard evaluation form will be adapted as necessary.

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

Additional documents include:

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 5. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes

HE Programme Guide

HE Framework Programme 2021/695

HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764

EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509

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

Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview for 2027 includes several topics related to Democracy, Heritage, and Transformation, with varying budget allocations and indicative numbers of grants. For HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08, the budget is 15,000,000 EUR, and the indicative number of grants is 4, with contributions ranging from 3,000,000 to 3,750,000 EUR.

Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

The submission system is planned to open on the date stated in the topic header.

This funding opportunity aims to enhance the impact of EU-funded migration research by scaling up promising innovations and fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. It seeks to create a more dynamic and responsive EU migration ecosystem, aligning with the objectives of the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration. Projects should focus on mapping, analysing, and validating research outputs from previous Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, with an emphasis on policy uptake, operational implementation, and scalability. The funding mechanism is a lump sum grant, and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate in selected consortia.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include a range of entities involved in research, policymaking, and migration management. This includes researchers, policymakers, migration practitioners, the private sector, groups or individuals representing the interests of refugees and migrants, and civil society organizations. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) can also participate as a member of the consortium. Based on the Horizon Europe framework, eligible applicants could include universities, research institutes, NGOs, SMEs, and other relevant organizations.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as it encourages engagement with key stakeholders and envisages the Joint Research Centre (JRC) participating as a member of the consortium. The text mentions the JRC may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and associated countries as 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.

Target Sector: The program targets the culture, creativity, and inclusive society sectors, with a specific focus on migration management. It also touches on policy innovation, research, and innovation actions related to migration.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity details mention EU Member States and non-EU/non-Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The project stage targets validation, adaptation, scaling, and deployment of innovations, methodologies, and tools. It focuses on projects with high potential for policy uptake, operational implementation, market deployment, and scaling.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic. For HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08, the budget is EUR 15,000,000 with contributions ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 3,750,000. Other topics such as HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-01 have a budget of EUR 3,500,000 with contributions ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 3,500,000. Other topics have budgets of 8, 10, 10.5, 12, 14.5, 15, 16 and 20 million EUR.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, as indicated by the deadline model being single-stage.

Nature of Support: The 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, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation of the potential success rate based on the number of expected proposals. For example, HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08 indicates 4 grants will be awarded.

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

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society pillar, focuses on scaling and deploying innovations in migration management. It aims to bridge the gap between migration research and practical policymaking by identifying, assessing, and facilitating the adoption of promising approaches from past EU-funded projects. The call encourages proposals that map and analyze research outputs, methodologies, and innovations from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe migration projects, selecting those with high potential for policy uptake and scaling. Projects should engage key stakeholders, including policymakers, migration practitioners, researchers, the private sector, and civil society, to ensure that identified innovations align with real-world needs and implementation pathways. Activities may include pilots, policy labs, and co-creation processes to enhance the transferability of research outcomes into policies and operational frameworks. The call provides funding through HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum. The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and associated countries, and the application process involves a single stage. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as part of the consortium. The overall goal is to enhance the impact of EU-funded migration research and foster a more dynamic and responsive EU migration ecosystem.