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Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges is a top-down, challenge-based approach that brings together resources and knowledge across different fields, technologies and disciplines, including social sciences and the humanities.
There are 7 Societal Challenges in Horizon 2020.
Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing
Responding to this challenge, research and innovation (R&I) under Horizon 2020 is an investment in better health for all. It aims to keep older people active and independent for longer and supports the development of new, safer and more effective interventions. R&I under Horizon 2020 also contributes to the sustainability of health and care systems.
Research & Innovation supported by this call will:
2018 - 2020 Work Programme for SC1: Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing is now available.
2016 - 2017 Work Programme and list of funding opportunities
2014 - 2015 Work Programme and list of funding opportunities
Work Programme 2018 -2020: Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the Bioeconomy;
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, together with the bio-based industries, are integral parts of the European economy and society. Relying on the use of limited natural resources, these sectors produce and process biological resources to satisfy the demand of consumers and a wide range of industries for food, feed, bio-energy and bio-based products. While they enhance Europe’s self-reliance and provide jobs and business opportunities essential for rural, coastal and marine areas, these sectors are also facing significant challenges which require solutions based on research and innovation.
Agriculture and forestry
Agriculture and forestry have always had and maintain an important role for EU’s society: they supply reliable, healthy and nutritious food as well as feed and non-food products for a wide range of industries, shape and take care of our landscapes, provide public goods, and keep the countryside alive by providing jobs. Research activities and policies will help to cope with the three main challenges these sectors are facing today: securing viable food production in face of a growing world food demand; ensuring sustainable management of natural resources and climate action; and finally to contribute to a balanced territorial development of the EU’s rural areas and their communities.
Agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet
Ensuring food security goes beyond securing a sufficient supply. It also requires social and economic access to safe and nutritious food. Food consumption has an impact on human health and the environment. The challenge is how to meet consumers' needs and preferences while minimising the related impact on health and the environment. Research and innovation will address food and feed security and safety, the competitiveness of the European agri-food industry and the sustainability of food production, processing and consumption. It will cover the whole food chain and related services from primary production to consumption.
Aquatic living resources and marine research
Oceans and seas represent over 70% of the earth's surface, and living aquatic resources can provide a significant contribution to food, energy and bio-based products. The objective is to sustainably manage and exploit aquatic living resources to maximise benefits from Europe's oceans, seas and inland waters. This includes optimising the sustainable contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to food security, boosting innovation through blue biotechnologies and fostering cross-cutting marine and maritime research to harness the potential of Europe's oceans, seas and coasts for jobs and growth.
Bio-based industries
The transition from fossil-based European industries towards low carbon, resource efficient and sustainable ones is a major challenge. It entails the transformation of conventional industrial processes and products into environmentally friendly bio-based ones, the development of integrated bio-refineries and the opening of new markets for bio-based products. Research and innovation will provide the means to reduce the Union's dependency on fossil resources and contribute to meeting its energy and climate change policy targets for 2020.
Investments in research and innovation under this societal challenge will support Europe in contributing to food security, climate protection and sustainability. It will also enable Europe to take leadership in the concerned markets and will play a role in supporting the goals of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Bioeconomy Strategy, and more broadly of the Europe 2020 strategy and its flagship initiatives 'Innovation Union' and 'Resource-efficient Europe'.
Work Programme 2018 -2020: Secure, clean and efficient energy
To make the transition to a competitive energy system, we need to overcome a number of challenges, such as increasingly scarce resources, growing energy needs and climate change.
The Energy Challenge is structured around seven specific objectives and research areas:
A budget of €5 931 million has been allocated to non-nuclear energy research for the period 2014-2020. Out of this figure, more than €200 million is earmarked to support European Institute of Innovation and Technology activities, subject to a mid-term review.
Work Programme 2018 - 2020: Smart, green and integrated transport
This Challenge funds research and innovation with the following specific objectives:
The 20th century's era of seemingly plentiful and cheap resources is coming to an end. The ability of the economy to adapt and become more climate change resilient, resource efficient and at the same time remain competitive depends on high levels of eco-innovation, of a societal, economic, organisational and technological nature. With the global market for eco-innovation worth around €1 trillion per annum and expected to triple by 2030, eco-innovation represents a major opportunity to boost competitiveness and job creation in European economies.
To ensure EU added value and given the transnational and global nature of the climate and the environment, their scale and complexity, and the international dimension of the raw materials supply chain, activities have to be carried out at the Union level and beyond. Reducing resource use and environmental impacts, whilst increasing competitiveness, will require a decisive societal and technological transition to an economy based on a sustainable relationship between nature and human well-being.
Innovation in these fields will provide opportunities for growth and jobs, as well as innovative options involving science, technology including of ICT, the economy, society, policy and governance.
Research and innovation will cover the following broad lines of activities:
The 2018-2020 Work Programme is available here.
This Challenge funds research and innovation with the following specific objectives:
The 20th century's era of seemingly plentiful and cheap resources is coming to an end. The ability of the economy to adapt and become more climate change resilient, resource efficient and at the same time remain competitive depends on high levels of eco-innovation, of a societal, economic, organisational and technological nature. With the global market for eco-innovation worth around €1 trillion per annum and expected to triple by 2030, eco-innovation represents a major opportunity to boost competitiveness and job creation in European economies.
To ensure EU added value and given the transnational and global nature of the climate and the environment, their scale and complexity, and the international dimension of the raw materials supply chain, activities have to be carried out at the Union level and beyond. Reducing resource use and environmental impacts, whilst increasing competitiveness, will require a decisive societal and technological transition to an economy based on a sustainable relationship between nature and human well-being.
Innovation in these fields will provide opportunities for growth and jobs, as well as innovative options involving science, technology including of ICT, the economy, society, policy and governance.
Research and innovation will cover the following broad lines of activities:
The 2018 - 2020 Work Programme is available here.
Reducing inequalities and social exclusion in Europe are crucial challenges for the future of Europe. At the same time, there is great potential for Europe through opportunities provided, for example, by new forms of innovation and by the engagement of citizens. Supporting inclusive, innovative and reflective societies is a prerequisite for a sustainable European integration.
EU research and innovation will address social exclusion, discriminations and various forms of inequalities. It will explore new forms of innovation and strengthen the evidence base for the Innovation Union, the European Research Area and other relevant EU policies. It will promote coherent and effective cooperation with third countries. Finally, it will address the issues of memories, identities, tolerance and cultural heritage.
In short, this Societal Challenge of the Horizon 2020 programme aims at fostering a greater understanding of Europe, by providing solutions and support inclusive, innovative and reflective European societies with an innovative public sector in a context of unprecedented transformations and growing global interdependencies.
The current SC6 Work Programme 2016-2017 tackles four major challenges currently faced by the European Union:
The four calls are supplemented by a set of specific smaller activities supporting in particular the implementation of the Innovation Union, the European Research Area, the strategy for international cooperation in R&I and COST.
The 2018-2020 Work Programme is available here.
The primary aims of the Secure Societies Challenge are:
Securing the society against disasters is one of the central elements of the functioning of any society. There is barely any societal sector which is not to some extent concerned by disasters and related resilience and security issues.
Fighting crime and terrorism requires new technologies and capabilities for fighting and preventing crime (including cyber-crime), illegal trafficking and terrorism (including cyber-terrorism), including understanding and tackling terrorist ideas and beliefs to also avoid aviation-related threats.
The protection of the European borders requires the development of systems, equipment, tools, processes, and methods for rapid identification. This includes supply chain security in the context of the EU’s customs policy.
Furthermore, solutions will be developed to support the Union's external security policies in civilian tasks, ranging from civil protection to humanitarian relief, border management or peace-keeping and post-crisis stabilisation, including conflict prevention, peace-building and mediation.
On Digital Security, this Challenge focuses on increasing the security of current applications, services and infrastructures by integrating state-of-the-art security solutions or processes, supporting the creation of lead markets & market incentives in Europe, following an end-user driven approach, including for instance law enforcement agencies, first responders, operators of critical infrastructures, ICT service providers, ICT manufacturers, market operators and citizens.
This Challenge should bring together all security stakeholders: industry - including SMEs, research organisations, universities, as well as public authorities, non-governmental organisations and public and private organisations in the security domain. The active involvement of end-users is of high importance.
The Secure Societies Challenge will contribute to the implementation of the policy goals of the Europe 2020 strategy, the Security Industrial Policy, the Internal Security Strategy and the Cyber Security Strategy.