Radicalisation and gender (HORIZON-CL3-2024-FCT-01-04)

Eligibility

Applications from Canadian researchers and innovators will be reviewed as fully-fledged members of consortia in Horizon Europe Pillar 2 calls. While Canadians can participate in all Horizon Europe calls that are open to international partners, as an associated country, Canadians can access a broader range of research opportunities in Pillar 2. 

1. Admissibility conditions: 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.

Summary

Expected Outcome:

Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

• Improved understanding of motivation of women and girls for supporting extremist ideologies, such as grievance and stigmatisation;
• Improved understanding of the role of masculinity in men and boys’ motivation for the support of extreme ideologies;
• Better understanding of the group dynamics at play during processes of radicalisation, including factors for factionalism and potential splinters in terrorist organisations;
• Development of strategies aimed at enhancing the use of motivation factor in detection, prevention and de-radicalisation efforts;
• European Police Authorities, Prison Authorities, social care workers, teachers and other P/CVE practitioners benefit from modern and validated tools, skills and training curricula to identify early symptoms of radicalisation;
• Identification and assessment of best practices that are transferable across Member States improving and developing modules and trainings, strengthening adaption of local community policing in diverse communities; and
• Design girls and women's empowerment approaches through legal, financial and/or cultural means aimed at tackling the root causes of radicalisation and extremism.

Scope:

Terrorism resulting from radicalisation and violent extremism is a serious threat to European security. Part of the complexity of these phenomena lies in the fact that there is neither a single pathway to radicalisation nor a single terrorist profile. Support of extremists is an effect of individual clusters of psychological, personal, social, economic and political reasons. From a gender perspective, women's radicalisation and involvement in violent extremist groups remain relatively under-researched, poorly understood and possibly characterized by misconceptions about women’s exclusion from decision-making processes, as well as their significant underrepresentation in bodies countering the phenomena. In situations of conflict and violence, women are often seen as passive, victims, subordinate and maternal, while these could be assumptions reinforcing gender stereotypes. In order to improve understandings of radicalization and gender we need to study how and why gender norms appear as an increasingly contested area of politics with strong mobilizing power. What role gender norms and equality policies play in stabilizing and destabilizing social and political order, and how ideas and norms about gender equality make people react, mobilize and engage politically, at present, in the past and in the future. The entry point for prevention and de-radicalisation efforts are local communities, which are both stakeholders and partners of the law enforcement in this process. Activities aimed at youngsters and adults have to be gender sensitive, and research has to deliver tailored advice and solutions adequately, and proportionately addressing all critical issues.

Community policing with its multidisciplinary approach seeks the cooperation of local communities and the broad range of public authorities in its efforts of building safe environments. However, those efforts should recognise not only cultural, social and economic diversity of the milieus, but as mentioned above also be gender sensitive. The successful proposal should build on the publicly available achievements and findings of related previous national or EU-funded projects as well as seek to exploit potential synergies with the successful proposal(s) funded under HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-03: New methods and technologies in service of community policing and transferable best practices, and HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-05: Gender-roles in extremist movements and their impact on democracy.

Moreover, the EU Counter-Terrorism Agenda adopted in 2020 outlines that Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) will identify best practices and approaches of community policing and engagement to build trust with and among communities, thus research under this topic should also build upon the work done by RAN. 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 innovation activities.

Specific Topic Conditions:

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

Topic destination:

Better protect the EU and its citizens against Crime and Terrorism (2023/24)

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024: “Crime and terrorism are more effectively tackled, while respecting fundamental rights, […] thanks to more powerful prevention, preparedness and response, a better understanding of related human, societal and technological aspects, and the development of cutting-edge capabilities for police authorities […] including measures against cybercrime.”

More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the following impacts:

• Modern information analysis for Police Authorities, allowing them to efficiently fight criminals and terrorists who use novel technologies;
• Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection, increasing the capabilities to apprehend criminals and terrorists and bring them to the court;
• Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to various forms of crime, including cybercrime, and terrorism, such as violent radicalisation, domestic and sexual violence, or juvenile offenders;
• Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces (while preserving their quality and openness);
• Improved intelligence picture and enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of various forms of organised crime;
• More secure cyberspace for citizens, especially children, through a robust prevention, detection, and protection from cybercriminal activities.

This Destination will also promote, whenever appropriate and applicable, the proposals with:

• the involvement of the Police Authorities in their core,
• a clear strategy on how they will adapt to the fast-evolving environment in the area of fight against crime and terrorism (evolution of related technologies, evolution of criminal modi operandi and business models related to these technologies, etc.),
• a minimum-needed platform, i.e. tools that are modular and can be easily plugged into another platform (in order to avoid platform multiplication),
• tools that are developed and validated against practitioners’ needs and requirements,
• a robust plan on how they will build on the relevant predecessor projects,
• the (active) involvement of citizens, voluntary organisations and communities,
• education and training aspects, especially for Police Authorities and other relevant practitioners, as well as information sharing and awareness raising of the citizens,
• a clear strategy on the uptake of the outcomes, defined in consultation with the involved stakeholders,
• a well-developed plan both on how research data for training and testing will be obtained, in order to reach the requested Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), and on how the specific TRL will be measured.

Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.

Overhead

The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the grant agreement, including indirect costs at a 25% flat-rate of the total eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs).

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Call documents:

Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System

Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)

Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations

Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)

MGA

HE General MGA v1.0

Call-specific instructions

Ownership control assessment declaration

Additional documents:

HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction

HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space

HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes

HE Programme Guide

HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695

HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764

EU Financial Regulation

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