Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Digital Europe Programme is the first EU programme that aims to accelerate the recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe.
Worth €7.6 billion (in current prices), the Programme is a part of the next long-term EU budget, (the Multiannual Financial Framework), and it covers 2021 to 2027. It will provide funding for projects in five crucial areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
The Programme is fine-tuned to fill the gap between the research of digital technologies and their deployment, and to bring the results of research to the market – for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and businesses, and in particular SMEs. Investments under the Digital Europe programme supports the Union’s twin objectives of a green transition and digital transformation and strengthens the Union’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The EU supports the capacity of a multidisciplinary community to understand, monitor and counter disinformation.
The objective of this topic is to maintain and further develop a platform supporting the operations of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), as well as deepening the language coverage and operational capacity of fact-checking in Europe.
In particular, the topic will support the operational cooperation between fact-checkers, researchers and media literacy practitioners across the EU through EDMO and support fact-checkers, with the aim to contribute to the fight against disinformation, to gain further insight on disinformation, monitoring of the disinformation space, debunking disinformation through the network of fact-checkers, and increasing the resilience of media professionals and citizens to disinformation.
Detailed Call Description
The scope of this work strand is to strengthen the capacity of the European fact-checking community and making fact-checking available in all languages, building on and further expanding activities initially carried out by European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) and other European fact-checking initiatives like the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN). Activities may also cover candidate and accession countries, associated to the Programme, in view of the specific vulnerabilities to disinformation and Russian interference in this region.
Funded activities, including through financial support to third parties, may include items such as:
- collaboration activities and capacity building for joint investigations;
- peer-to-peer support from established fact-checking organisations to newly created ones;
- technical infrastructure / tools supporting the activities of fact-checkers;
- targeted trainings for fact-checkers and media professionals, with particular emphasis on supporting the emergence of fact-checking in regions and languages that are currently not yet well covered.
To enshrine the independence of fact-checkers, activities funded will build on the independence and transparency standards developed by the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN).
Through this dedicated work strand, fact-checkers capacity to play a vital role in the fight against disinformation will be further developed and supported. The funded activities shall also empower European Fact-Checkers to work hand-in-hand with the European Democracy Shield, ensuring full complementarity.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
The type of grant: Grants for financial support
Funding rate: 100% for the consortium, co-funding of 50% for the supported third party.
- Proposals should foresee at least a minimum of 60% of the project’s total costs for the subgrants for third parties.
- The maximum amount of EU co-funding per third party is €350.000, amounts of more than €60.000 per third party are necessary because the nature of the actions under this call is such that their objectives would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult to achieve.
- A third party can be awarded more than once, provided that the total EU cofunding does not exceed €350.000 per third party over the project duration, whilst ensuring that no double funding occurs.
- The distribution of the budget to third parties must be explicitly detailed in Part B of the proposal. The amount earmarked for third parties should be included in the estimated budget “Resources table, column D1”. Moreover, a detailed explanation on the activities to be carried out by third parties shall be included in part B under the respective Work Package (WP), as well as listed in Table “Other cost categories”.
- The recipients of financial support to third parties are required to co-finance the activity by minimum 50% of the total costs of the activity.
Project budget (requested grant amount): €5.000.000 per project
Thematic Categories
- Audiovisual sector and Media
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Public Administration
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- Legal Entities
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
- non-EU countries:
- listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme (list of participating countries)
Consortium composition – Proposals must be submitted by:
- A minimum of three independent applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from at least three different eligible countries
- The coordinator must be based in an EU Member State
For complementary information refer to section 2 – Targeted stakeholders for consortia composition.
Targeted stakeholders
Targeted stakeholders for the consortium are organisations such as: Fact-checking organisations certified by either the EFCSN or IFCN, Civil society organisations, News Media, Academic institutions and commercial entities providing services which are relevant for the achievement of the call objectives.
The consortium should strive for a diverse set of participating organisations. Consortium members should embody a proper geographical balance and include organisations with proven expertise and experience related to the needs and specificities of the most vulnerable areas of the EU when it comes to exposure to disinformation and factchecking capacity. In addition, consortium members should include applicants that cover the necessary expertise to implement the three consortium deliverables, namely: a fact-checking repository, a fact-checking protection scheme, and an emergency response capacity. Furthermore, the consortium must also identify the priorities for third-party funding grants, the tendering of the calls for proposals, and the selection of grantees.
The consortium must involve at least one independent fact-checking organisation.
The independence of the fact-checking organisation included in the consortium should be demonstrated either as:
- Certified by the European Fact-Checking Standards Network or the International Fact-Checking Network, which are listed under https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/signatories or under, https://members.efcsn.com/signatories
- Or, if the fact-checking organisation is not listed under any of the two links specified in point a) above, the organisation should then provide a certificate demonstrating its compliance with this criterion, i.e. proof of certification by EFCSN. The certificate can be included in Part B of the proposal.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy
Directorate of Research and Innovation
Eleana Gabriel
Telephone: +357 22 691918
Email: egabriel@dmrid.gov.cy