Enhancing the security of citizens against terrorism and lone-actor violence in confined spaces such as schools – Förderung EU-weit

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: • Increased understanding of policymakers and relevant security practitioners of the phenomenon of terrorism and lone-actor violence towards citizens in confined places such as schools, in the European context; • Terrorist and lone-actor attacks to citizens in confined places such as schools, are prevented in Europe by, e.g., detecting and tackling early signs of isolation and radicalisation, as well as the promotion of a secure and inclusive environment; • European schools and other confined places, e.g., places of worship, public administration or other buildings accessible to the public, are provided with state-of-the-art means of ensuring their security; • Cooperation between Police Authorities in Europe and relevant staff (in schools, public administration, etc.) is improved. Scope: Citizens in European schools and other confined spaces (e.g., places of worship, public administration and other buildings accessible to the public) increasingly face various forms of terrorism and lone-actor violence. This topic aims at providing such places with solutions for ensuring civil security (of pupils, school staff, administrative workers, citizens at large) via exploring various societal and technological means of preventing such threats, with full respect of fundamental rights, such as rights to privacy and the protection of personal data. Based on a thorough analysis of the phenomenon under consideration in the European context, proposals should look into methodologies of catching and tackling early signs of terrorist threats, isolation and radicalisation, taking into account the social and cultural factors that may influence an individual's vulnerability to radicalisation, such as gender roles and stereotypes. Proposals should also consider how these factors may impact the effectiveness of prevention programmes and of addressing them by, e.g., creating appropriate programmes, including by modernising approaches for prevention of terrorist and lone actor attacks. Means for raising awareness (possibly training) of the relevant staff (school staff, employees in public administration, etc., in function of the building under consideration) regarding existing risks and for keeping them up to date on security matters should be tackled and designed to be inclusive and effective for diverse groups. Ways of improving cooperation between the relevant staff and Police Authorities in this context should be analysed too. Proposed solutions should be affordable to public schools and other structures accessible to the public that are usually more limited in funding. Proposals are invited from consortia involving Police Authorities and other relevant security practitioners, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, and the appropriate balance of IT specialists, psychologists, sociologists, etc. To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, performed by the practitioners involved in the project. Activities proposed within this topic should address the issue from various angles, combining both social research with technological development and applications in a logical manner. Therefore, this topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. Proposals should outline the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at national and EU level for possible next steps once the project is finalised. Proposals should also consider, build on outcomes developed by EU-funded projects, such as the ones under HORIZON-CL3-2024-FCT-01-04 and HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-05, and not duplicate previous research. If the proposals concern drug-related issues, they are expected to engage with the EU Drugs Agency during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination. Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. ">General conditions 1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. 2. Eligible Countries 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. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. 3. Other Eligible Conditions The following additional eligibility criteria apply: This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 Police Authorities[[In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention, detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.]] and at least 2 Civil Society Organisations (or Non-Governmental Organisations) from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion 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 described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. 6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]]. described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme] Some activities resulting from this topic may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes. Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA): Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) HE Programme Guide Model Grant Agreements (MGA) Lump Sum MGA Call-specific instructions Detailed budget table (HE LS) Information on financial support to third parties (HE) Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?" Additional documents: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 6. Civil Security for 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