Topic updates

17 September 2025

CALL UPDATE: PROPOSAL NUMBERS

Call HORIZON-CL2-2025-01 has closed on 16/09/2025.

1122 proposals have been submitted.

The breakdown per topic is:

HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-06 : 27 

Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in February 2026.

19 August 2025
Please read the published frequently asked questions and answers in the `Topic Q&A` section of the topic.

10 June 2025
Please note that the technical issue has been solved and the details of the Destination of the topic are now displayed on the topic page.

02 June 2025
Please note that the topic page does not display the description of the destination due to a technical issue, but the full description of the 3 destinations (Democracy, Heritage, Social and Economical Transformations) that are relevant for the call are available in the Work Programme 2025 “Culture, creativity and inclusive society”. Please select from the Work Programme the destination relevant to your topic and consider the description when preparing your proposal.

Evaluation and use of evidence in education policy and practice

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-06

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society - 2025 (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01)

Type of action: HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]

Status: Forthcoming

Deadline model: single-stage

Planned Opening Date: 15 May 2025

Deadline dates: 16 September 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• New analysis and evaluation of education policy measures.
• Support use of SSH research evidence by education and training policy makers and practitioners.
• Enhanced culture of research and evaluation in education policymaking and among practitioners. Better understanding of the types of expertise and institutional settings that are more effective at informing education policies and practices with evidence.

Scope:

The European Education Area^[1] aims to improve access to quality education for all. The strategic framework for the European Education Area set the EU-level target: “The share of low-achieving 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science should be less than 15%, by 2030” (Council of the European Union 2021). The latest data (2022) suggest that the European Union average is much higher^[2] than 15% and that pupils from low socio-economic status face a considerably higher risk of low achievement than their peers from high socio-economic background. Student performance varies widely, with differences at the student, school and education system levels. Improving educational quality and closing gaps in learning outcomes are important societal issues, and a major challenge for education systems across the European Union. There is a research gap in the empirical evaluation of education policies and practices and the understanding of the circumstances under which they are most beneficial. There is also a gap in the translation of scientific evidence into practices in educational institutions.

The action must enhance interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers in education and engage diverse educational research disciplines from social sciences, the arts and humanities. The action must include the perspectives of policy makers and practitioners who look at similar topics from different angles. The action should analyse policies in at least one level of education, with a particular focus on transitions from the previous level of education and to the next. Proposals may choose to analyse and evaluate general measures for all learners or targeted and individualised support in inclusive settings. Involvement of authorities responsible for the education and training policies is essential and should be ensured. The action should enhance collaborations to improve the access of researchers to administrative data and other types of data, including surveys of children and young people, to develop new research approaches and perspectives. Therefore, close cooperation with authorities and/or other institutions owning the data is essential and should be ensured.

The action should analyse and evaluate policy measures in their context, using a mixed methods approach including qualitative and quantitative methods. Proposals can include an experimental design, using e.g. small, randomized control trials and quasi-experimental methods (such as difference-in-difference or discontinuity designs) to test the effectiveness of specific interventions in different contexts. Proposals can also include participatory research approaches. Complementarities with the projects funded under the topics HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05, HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-06; HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-10 and Topic HORIZON-CL5-2023-D1-01-10 are encouraged.

Where applicable, proposals should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, as well as data from relevant Data Spaces. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this topic is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

[1] https://education.ec.europa.eu/

[2] Data from the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) are used to measure progress towards the EU-level target and the latest data (2022) put the EU average at 26.2% for reading, 29.5% for mathematics and 24.2% for science.

Start submission

The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

Get support

Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.

Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.

Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.

National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).

Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.

IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.

European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.

CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.

The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.

Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.