Horizon Europe — Cluster 2 (Democracy & Governance)

Supporting post-conflict democracy and reconstruction

Digital and media literacy as drivers for democratic and civic resilience

The integrity of electoral processes in Europe is facing challenges in the digital age. The digital transformation of democratic processes has created new avenues for citizen engagement, but it also poses significant risks from disinformation to the integrity of electoral and other democratic processes. Proposals should examine the effects of digital technologies on public opinion and governance, and investigate the development of ethical AI, transparent political advertising, and tools to counter misinformation, disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). This includes exploring multi-stakeholder approaches, fostering dialogue with online platforms, media and political parties, and examining how AI-generated content influences public opinion, social narratives, and civic engagement. The ultimate goal is to create robust and resilient electoral systems that can meet the challenges of the digital age, ensure the safety and integrity of electoral processes, and promote free, fair, inclusive and transparent elections.

In an era characterised by numerous concurrent crises, accelerated technological development, and waning public trust in government, this topic aims to furnish a precise depiction of the current condition of public service in EU Member States and Associated Countries. Proposals are expected to cover three focus areas: (1) New governance paradigm — new governance approaches and reforms in response to declining public trust, including anticipatory governance, agile leadership, the impacts of digital technology (especially AI and automation), open government approaches, and central communication strategies; (2) Innovative approaches to public service and policy development — multidisciplinary approaches including citizen participation, stakeholder engagement, systems thinking, and the role of technology/AI and interconnected data systems; (3) New public employment management and civil service empowerment — transforming the civil service through innovation and HR policy, including upskilling, reskilling, future literacy, and organisational framework conditions conducive to innovation.

Democracies are at risk when reliable and independent journalism is at risk. Journalistic newsrooms are under severe economic pressure, forced to compete for citizens' attention with infotainment that sometimes entails unverified opinions and low-quality or malicious sources. Applicants are invited to work together with news media organisations to enhance innovation across the news media sectors, focusing on: development of methods to recognise content produced with journalistic standards (trust indicators, browser plugins, metadata standards); identification of AI models that help media build attractive services and generate revenues; innovative methods for user-centric design; and roll-out of pan-European innovative platforms. Proposals are also encouraged to investigate the need for transparency and accountability mechanisms for influencers and content creators, and the evolving trust dynamics between human-curated journalism and AI-driven news delivery.