GrantWise
HORIZON EUROPE TOPIC · Cluster 2 · Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society

Impact of in-kind benefits on income distribution and on vulnerable populations

HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-02 — the expected outcomes as checkable statements, what evaluators look for in this topic, and the conditions that shape the proposal.

Get the free Part B working draft for this topic ↓

ForthcomingRIA · lump sumDeadline 23 September 2027EUR 3 million to EUR 3.3 million per project

GrantWise › Horizon Europe topics › HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-02

TopicHORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-02
StatusForthcoming
CallHORIZON-CL2-2027-01 — Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society - 2027
DestinationInnovative Research on Social and Economic Transformations (2026-27)
Type of actionResearch and Innovation Actions · lump sum
Opening13 May 2027
Deadline23 September 2027
BudgetEUR 3 million to EUR 3.3 million per project · 3 projects expected · EUR 10 million in total
Part B page limit45 pages (standard application form; check your call)
TemplateWork Programme 2026–2027 application form

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes. The topic says: “Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:”

  1. EO1 Policy makers get a mapping of in-kind benefits across Member States and a comprehensive measurement framework.
  2. EO2 Policy makers gain insights on the availability of in-kind services, on potential gaps in their provision, and on reasons for non-take up.
  3. EO3 Policy makers gain insights into the redistributive role of in-kind benefits and on the segregation of different social groups, through SSH research.
  4. EO4 Policy makers receive operational advice to make informed policy choices which reduce inequality and strengthen fairness and cohesion.

Expected impacts named in the destination

The wider, long-term effects the destination seeks. Your outcomes feed them; they are not project deliverables.

  1. EI1 Strengthening social and economic resilience and sustainability.
  2. EI2 Boosting inclusive growth and reducing vulnerabilities effectively.
  3. EI3 The European Pillar of Social Rights, and its Action Plan with its three ambitious targets (78% employment rate, 60% of population with yearly training, and reduction of the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030)
  4. EI4 the European Education Area and its EU-level 2030 targets.
  5. EI5 The Union of Skills (including envisaged initiatives on skills portability and the European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, the Pact for Skills and the Skills Agenda)
  6. EI6 the first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy and the European Affordable Housing Plan.
  7. EI7 The Union of Equality policies and strategies, including: the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 (in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities); the European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882), and the European Disability Card The Gender Equality Strategy 2020 – 2025 and the Directive combating violence against women and domestic violence EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 The Strategic EU Framework for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation 2020-2030 The LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025.
  8. EI8 The Communication on Demographic change in Europe: a toolbox for action.
  9. EI9 The EU’s just transition policy framework, in line with the 2040 Climate Target Plan, including the Just Transition Mechanism, the Social Climate Fund, and the Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality.
  10. EI10 The new Pact for European Social Dialogue and the Council Recommendation on strengthening social dialogue in the EU.
  11. EI11 The European Child Guarantee.
  12. EI12 The Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

  • Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
  • For each outcome (EO1 to EO4), name who will use or adopt your results (a specific group, not “industry” or “society”), how they get them, and the indicator that shows the change, with baseline, target and date.
  • Use the topic's own words for each outcome, so the evaluator can tick it off.

Conditions that shape the proposal

  • Part B, sections 1–3: 45 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
  • Lump sum: the budget is fixed per work package and paid when each work package is completed. Every work package needs activities and deliverables an evaluator can verify, and the effort must match the money.

Impact pathway and traps

  • The topic asks for social sciences and humanities (SSH) expertise. Evaluators look for SSH partners with a real role in the methodology, not a token task.
  • The gender dimension is named in the topic. Show how sex and gender analysis enters the research content, not only team balance.
  • Life-cycle or safe-and-sustainable-by-design assessment is expected. Name the method and where in the work plan it runs.
  • Policy or regulation is in scope. Name the policy owners you will reach and what you will give them.
  • Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
  • For each destination impact you claim, show which of your outcomes feeds it. Destination impacts are long-term effects, not project deliverables.
  • Name the barriers outside the project (regulation, markets, user behaviour) that could block uptake, and what you will do if they do.
  • Section 2.3 (the summary canvas) is optional on this call; the old split into scientific, economic and societal impact is no longer required.
The scope, as published

In-kind benefits refer to non-cash goods and services provided to individuals or households, typically by the government (national, regional and/or local), to support their well-being or fulfil basic needs. Unlike cash transfers, which can be spent at the recipient's discretion, in-kind benefits ensure that resources are used for specific purposes for free or at a subsidised cost (e.g. food banks, social housing, health and long-term care services, childcare, schooling, sport infrastructure, public transport). Despite the wide range of in-kind benefits, there is poor empirical knowledge basis of the impact of in-kind benefits (except for healthcare) on the income distribution and on vulnerable groups, unlike the impact of cash benefits. Research activities may focus, as a baseline, on establishing a full mapping of in-kind benefits (both for free and at a subsidised cost, universal and means-tested) provided by national, regional and local governments. This mapping, potentially structured along the life-cycle perspective and/or around specific groups, might help to develop EU indicators on in-kind benefits and improve comparability. Proposals may develop a comprehensive measurement framework based on methods, tools, available data and indicators, both qualitative and quantitative and both ex ante and ex post. The framework may translate in-kind benefits into income and show their redistributive role (on income groups, vulnerable populations, marginal and/or small size groups) and ensure cross-country comparability. Proposals may consider identifying the availability of in-kind benefits at local level, potential gaps, take-up rates for in-kind benefits and their reasons (e.g. capacities' incompatibility with the local needs). They may involve vulnerable communities in the evaluation design. Proposals may provide operational advice to policy makers on how to translate the research results into concrete actions to reduce inequality and strengthen fairness and cohesion. The overall aim is to close the knowledge gap covering various dimensions. Therefore, it is expected that proposals apply a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach, including age, to their research.

Other topics in HORIZON-CL2-2027-01

Source and attribution

Topic text from the official topic page on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, retrieved 19 October 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU (CC BY 4.0). Changes: the expected outcomes and impacts are split into numbered statements, long passages are shortened, and the evaluator checklist is GrantWise's own commentary. Your call and the Work Programme always win; check them before you submit. GrantWise is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the European Commission.