Strengthening Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) research communities in climate, energy and mobility disciplines

Call updates

Sep 8, 2021 5:05:09 PM
REMINDER: Under Horizon Europe, only organisations form EU Member States or from Associated Countries can participate in a proposal for Coordination and Support Actions, unless stated otherwise in the Work Programme. Including a Third Country partner in the consortium may deem your proposal ineligible. A sole applicant can be either from a Member State or an Associated Country. For the list of Associated Countries please refer to the International Cooperation section of the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Jun 25, 2021 12:02:37 PM
The submission session is now available for: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-14(HORIZON-CSA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-15(HORIZON-CSA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-12(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-01(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-02(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-03(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-05(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-06(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-09(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-10(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-07(HORIZON-CSA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-16(HORIZON-COFUND), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-11(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-04(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-13(HORIZON-CSA)

Strengthening Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) research communities in climate, energy and mobility disciplines
TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-13

Programme: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)
Call: Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition (HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01)
Type of action: HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]
Deadline model: single-stage
Planned opening date: 24 June 2021
Deadline date: 19 October 2021 17:00:00 Brussels time

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Research and innovation communities focusing on Social Science and Humanities (SSH) approaches to climate, energy and mobility as well as on citizen engagement and empowerment are less fragmented and better networked across Europe, including with respect to Eastern and Southern Europe.
• A targeted strategy for intensifying collaboration between Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) and Social Science and Humanities (SSH) research and innovation communities has led to more and more in-depth interdisciplinary work.
• Dedicated outreach and engagement activities (e.g. co-creation processes and greater dissemination of best practices and challenges), have produced strong links to principal stakeholder communities, including policymakers at various levels, the private sector, academia, civil society, and citizens at large.
• Project activities have lowered social and behavioural barriers and contributed to greater citizen engagement in the context of the SET Plan, Horizon Europe Missions, Horizon Europe Partnerships, or other research and innovation actions supported by the EU’s framework programme, in collaboration with or building on other EU-funded projects in these areas.
• Policy advice to policy communities, including at European and other levels, is based on the latest research, including work prepared in the context of this project, actionable, and supported by communication and dissemination resources as well as practical guidelines.

Scope:

Confronting the threat of global warming and transitioning to carbon neutrality by mid-century requires research and innovation in a number of distinct but interconnected areas, notably in climate science, energy, and mobility. Along with technological innovations, successful solutions need to factor in changing lifestyles, social innovation, forms of behaviour, value structures, governance arrangements at institutional or corporate levels, as well as forms of social organisation. This calls for concerted, multi-disciplinary approaches that are rooted in a variety of academic disciplines but also draw in and engage policymakers at various levels, the private sector, civil society and citizens at large.

To develop and enact such approaches, more extensive networks connecting relevant communities of researchers and practitioners are required, to facilitate and enable deeper and more consequential forms of collaboration. In particular, Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) communities in climate science, energy and climate need to work more closely with those in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines, ensuring adequate outreach especially to the eastern and southern parts of Europe. At the same time, methods and mechanisms for lowering social and behavioural barriers and engaging citizens and stakeholders need further refinement, more extensive application and improvement via co-creation and co-production processes, including gender-sensitive ones, and greater dissemination. Focus areas requiring specific attention include prosumers, renewable energy and mobility communities, resource efficiency and the circular economy, as well as digital platforms and technologies.

Developing novel, multi-disciplinary perspectives, strengthening SSH research communities while encouraging collaboration with the STEM disciplines, and nurturing linkages with stakeholder communities, civil society and citizens at large are important preconditions for providing targeted, high-quality advice on how to confront the manifold challenges surrounding the transition to climate neutrality. Policymakers at European and other levels have obvious need for such advice, in delivering the European Green Deal and other high-profile policy initiatives.

Projects under this topic are expected to work towards these goals, while also producing novel research and concrete applications that can inform policymaking, notably at EU-level including with respect to the European Green Deal.