Funding Programme

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) aims to support member states and regions to improve employment and education opportunities, to enhance social inclusion and to tackle poverty.

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Call overview

This call addresses challenges faced by societies and public services in the EU Member States and supports the integration and social inclusion of people who have fled Ukraine.  

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Call detail

In line with the key objectives of the ESF+ Social Innovation + Initiative, this call aims to promote transnational cooperation and mutual learning between the EU Member State. It promotes the development of innovative approaches to societal challenges that empower citizens and improve our societies and welfare systems. By fostering the transfer and upscaling of social innovation, the call aims to contribute to the dissemination of proven successful models and invites to transform pressing social problems into opportunities.

The call will support transnational projects which aim at transferring or scaling up of social innovations and contribute to the following objectives: 

• Integration and social inclusion of people who have fled Ukraine. Projects under this objective are expected to propose a multi-layered approach to the integration of refugees in host countries across the EU, including tailored solutions in areas like employment, skills, housing, and access to social and care services. 
• Mitigation of the consequences of the crisis on Member States’ societies and their public services. Projects under this objective are expected to develop innovative models for addressing broader challenges, such as tackling energy poverty, easing the purchasing power crisis, and developing more inclusive social services.

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Activities funded

Applicants can propose the activities best suited to pursue the outputs of this Call in their specific context. Applicants should justify how the proposed activities contribute to the expected objectives of the Call - integration and social inclusion of refugees fleeing Ukraine and/or mitigation of the consequences of the crisis on Member States’ societies and their public services.

Project activities should:

- be instrumental for achieving the objectives;

- be linked to the outputs set out in the call document;

- demonstrate a long-term vision and include mechanisms for further transfer/upscaling;

- build the capacity of key stakeholders to implement a new approach/model.

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Eligibility

Legal entities established and registered in the EU Member States are eligible as applicants or co-applicants and associated partners.

Applicants, co-applicants, and associated partners can be:

- Non-governmental and non-for-profit entities (e.g., civil society organisations, associations, foundations, social enterprises, etc.).

- National, local, and regional authorities.

Public entities (e.g., agencies, organisations, centres, etc.).

- Research and education institutions.

- Private companies (including consultancy and service providers).

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Consortium composition

Only consortia are eligible.   

To be considered eligible, the consortium must include an applicant (the coordinator) and at least one co-applicant. The members of the consortium shall represent at least two different EU Member States. 

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Duration

12-18 months.

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Budget

The estimated size of a grant is between EUR 200 000 to EUR 700 000 per project (but this does not preclude the submission/selection of applications requesting other amounts), constituting not more than 80% of the project’s total budget. A co-financing of at least 20% must thus come from other resources than the EU budget.

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