Objectives

This call directly contributes to the ambitions for societal impact of the CIVIS Alliance. It aims to support the implementation of transnational civic engagement projects co-designed by universities and societal partners to address concrete societal needs.

As such, CIVIS will fund up to 5 projects over a period of 12 months. Supported initiatives should generate tangible and measurable benefits for communities, organisations or territories while strengthening collaboration between academic and societal partners across the Alliance.

The call specifically seeks to:

• support the co-creation and implementation of solutions responding to identified societal needs;
• strengthen long-term partnerships between CIVIS universities and societal partners;
• foster transnational collaboration and mutual learning across the Alliance enabling partners from different countries to exchange experiences, compare approaches and co-develop solutions to shared societal challenges;
• encourage the involvement of students in civic engagement activities;
• promote collaboration with CIVIS African associate member universities,whose involvement as project partners is strongly encouraged, whenever relevant;
• develop approaches, flexible tools and results that can be transferred, adapted or replicated by other CIVIS members and territories.

Thematic

CIVIS invites proposals addressing the theme: “Democracy in Action: Healthy, Equitable, Sustainable Cities & Communities”.

Across Europe and beyond, cities and communities are facing interconnected societal challenges including, environmental degradation, social inequalities, technological transformations, public-health vulnerabilities, and declining trust in democratic institutions. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative approaches that actively involved societal and academic actors.

Through this call, CIVIS seeks to support projects that develop concrete responses to societal needs while strengthening democratic participation, social inclusion, sustainability and community resilience. Universities and societal partners are encouraged to work together to co-design, test and implement solutions that generate tangible benefits for communities and territories.

Obligations of Funded Projects

Funded projects are expected to actively contribute to the CIVIS civic engagement community and participate in monitoring and knowledge-sharing activities organised by the Alliance.

Project teams are required to:

• participate in the project kick-off on-line workshop organised by CIVIS;
• participate in a half-day mid-term monitoring on-line workshop to share progress, challenges and lessons learned;
• participate in a half-day final on-line workshop dedicated to the presentation of project results and outcomes;
• contribute to the CIVIS Forum to be held in June 2028, by presenting their project and engaging with other CIVIS stakeholders; due to funding constraints, participation may be limited to a representative of the project team.
• submit a final report at the end of the project;
• engage with and share project progress, results, resources and deliverables with the CIVIS Alliance including the Civic Engagement Unit and the CIVIS Civic Engagement and Societal Impact Work Package (WP4). Project results, reports and other outputs may be used, published or featured in CIVIS 2.1 reporting, deliverables and communication materials.

Fundings 

CIVIS will support up to five projects, with a maximum contribution of €24,000 per project. Eligible costs for CIVIS 2.1 funding may include:

• mobility costs within the EU for staff and students from CIVIS EU member universities;
• mobility costs to the EU for societal partners contributing directly to the project's objectives as external experts;
• organisational costs of meetings or workshops taking place in the EU;
• communication, dissemination and outreach activities;
• translation and other services;
• materials and consumable supplies necessary for project implementation, excluding IT equipment) and other durable equipment subject;
• external expertise or services directly linked to the project objectives, where justified.
• staff costs are eligible only for personnel already employed by a participating EU university and must not exceed 30% of the project's total budget.

Applicants should ensure that all planned expenses comply with the financial and administrative rules of their institution. Applicants are encouraged to consult their local CIVIS coordinator to prepare the budget. Specific budget guidelines and eligible expenditure categories are provided in the budget template. 

*Note: 

The University of Lausanne and the University of Glasgow cannot receive CIVIS 2.1 funding. However, the two institutions have their own specific funding to participate to this call. Please contact christele.aubry@unil.ch, for the University of Lausanne and civis@glasgow.ac.uk, for the University of Glasgow for more information. The participation of CIVIS African partner universities is strongly encouraged. However, the terms of the EU funding rules of CIVIS 2.1 do not permit to cover mobility costs from/to Africa. These expenses must be confirmed directly with the hosting institution through its own funding schemes or ERASMUS+ KA171 agreement.

Eligibility Criteria for funding

To be eligible, proposals must meet all of the following criteria:

1. The consortium must include at least three CIVIS member universities, including the coordinating institution. Each university must have clear identified roles, complementarities and contributions appropriate to the project's objectives.
2. At least two participating universities must be in European Union Member States. The University of Glasgow (UK), the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and African Universities do not count towards this minimum requirement.
3. The proposal must identify at least one societal partner actively contributing as a co-constructor of the project. Their role must be clearly described.
4. The lead applicant and the local project coordinators must be employed by a CIVIS member university for the entire duration of the project. The lead applicant must be from an European member universities.
5. A Letter of Institutional Endorsement and Compliance signed by each university and a Letter of Societal Partner Endorsement signed by each societal partner must be submitted with the application. One signed letter is required for each university and each societal partner involved in the project. Templates can be found HERE

Funded project activities should end by 30 April 2028. 

Timeline & Selection Process

All submitted proposals will first undergo an eligibility check. Eligible applications will then be evaluated by independent reviewers based on the evaluation criteria described above. Following the evaluation process, up to five projects will be selected for funding. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of the evaluation once the selection process has been completed.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Eligible proposals will be assessed by independent evaluators against the criteria described below. The maximum score is 69 points.

The final funding decision will be based on the evaluation results and on the objective of ensuring a balanced portfolio of projects that maximises the overall impact and added value for the CIVIS Alliance. 

In addition to the evaluation scores, considerations such as thematic diversity, complementarity between projects, and the overall balance of the selected portfolio may be taken into account. 

• Relevance to the Call and Societal Need (12 points)

The project should address a clearly identified challenge and demonstrate a strong understanding of the societal needs. The proposal should provide evidence supporting these needs and explain how collaboration between academic and societal partners will contribute to addressing them.

• Quality of Societal Partner Involvement (12 points)

The project should demonstrate meaningful involvement of societal partners and a co-creation approach. Attention will be given to the relevance of the partners involved, their contribution to identifying the need and shaping the project, their role in project implementations and their involvement in the dissemination or uses of project results.

• Quality and Complementarity of the CIVIS Consortium (9 points)

The consortium should demonstrate the added value of transnational collaboration within CIVIS. Partners are expected to bring complementary expertise, perspectives and resources and contribute actively to the achievement of project objectives through clearly defined and balanced roles. 

Support Available for Funded Projects

Beyond financial support, selected projects will benefit from opportunities for exchange and networking within the CIVIS Alliance with dedicated guidance and support from the CIVIS Civic Engagement Unit and the CIVIS Civic Engagement and Societal Impact Work Package (WP4).

This includes:

• participation in the CIVIS civic engagement community via the Cascade Network;
• exchange of practices and experiences with other funded projects and civic engagement community;
• possibility to participate to training and coaching on participatory methodologies;
• visibility through CIVIS communication channels and events;
• guidance and support for project implementation, development, dissemination, transferability and exploitation of project results.

Contacts:

For questions regarding the call, eligibility rules or application process, please contact: civic-engagement@lists.civis.eu.

Institutional Coordinators can advise on budgetary and administrative matters, Civic Engagement Unit members can support project development and partner identification, and Christian Möllmann can be contacted for general questions and collaborations with CIVIS African associate member universities.