Overview of applications submitted under the Call ‘Innovative Approaches to Mitigate the Societal Consequences of Russia’s War of Aggression Against Ukraine within EU countries’
The Call ‘Innovative Approaches to Mitigate the Societal Consequences of Russia’s War of Aggression Against Ukraine within EU countries’ was launched under the European Social Fund+ (ESF+) Social Innovation+ (SI+) initiative. It aims to promote transnational cooperation and foster the transfer and upscaling of social innovations which address recent challenges faced by societies and public services in the EU Member States.
The entities representing public, private, social economy and civil society sectors were invited to form transnational consortia and submit projects contributing to the overarching objectives of the Call - integration and social inclusion of people who have fled Ukraine and / or mitigation of the consequences of the crisis on Member States’ societies and their public services. The estimated size of a grant ranges from EUR 200 000 to EUR 700 000 per project and can be used to cover up to 80% of the total project budget. The expected duration of a project is between 12 to 18 months.
The Call, which was closed on 30 May 2024, has garnered significant interest from EU Member States. This underscores the initiative’s importance and relevance within the EU community, demonstrating a collective acknowledgment of the need to address the societal consequences resulting from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine across EU countries.
Key highlights of submission results:
- Applications and geographical spread: 102 applications were received from entities representing 22 EU Member States, with Poland, Italy and Lithuania having the biggest number of entities participating as coordinators (19, 10 and 14 respectively) and partners (52, 32 and 22 respectively) in the projects.
- Grant requests: The total grant amount requested by the applications stands at approximately 55 million EUR, exceeding the indicative overall Call budget (22 million) by twice the amount.
- Partnerships: The consortium size varies from 2 up to 18 national and transnational project partners (including associated partners).
The evaluation process started with checking applications for compliance with the formal requirements specified in the Call Conditions, which included both admissibility and eligibility checks. Applications that passed these checks moved on to the quality assessment phase, where they were evaluated against the award criteria. This ensures that resources are allocated to projects with the greatest potential for success and positive societal impact, thus furthering the goals of the ESF+ SI+ initiative.
The Social Innovation+ initiative addresses societal challenges in employment, education, skills, and social inclusion. Part of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), it has a budget of €197 million for the 2021-2027 programming period.
The initiative includes transnational calls for proposals and opportunities for mutual learning, capacity building, and networking.
Support is provided to several communities of practices in key areas of the ESF+, particularly employment, education, skills, and social inclusion.
Close collaboration with National Competence Centres also helps to develop and share tools and methods for transferring and scaling up innovative solutions across the EU.
Learn more about the Call here.
