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ScaleDem Scaling Grounds: Piloting Programme

Submission & evaluation process

Applications to the ScaleDem Piloting Programme are submitted via the dedicated online form available on the ScaleDem website (https://scaledem.eu/call/piloting-programme/). Only applications submitted through this form by the deadline will be considered.

Applicants are invited to first use the Decision Helper / Declaration of Interest to clarify eligibility. Once the full application is submitted and the deadline has passed, the ScaleDem team performs an eligibility check (eligible country, type of organisation, completeness of the form and required declarations). Only eligible and complete applications proceed to evaluation.

Eligible pilot proposals are evaluated by an independent jury composed of the project's Scientific Advisory Board, End-User Advisory Board, randomly selected citizens and consortium partners). Proposals are first scored on the basis of the written application.

Shortlisted applicants are then invited to a brief online pitch/interview, during which they present their pilot project, explain how it will scale democratic innovations in at least one of the four scaling dimensions (High, Out, Deep, In), and answer questions from the jury.

The jury uses the written application and interview to agree a final ranked list of pilot projects to be funded. Selected applicants are invited to sign a Sub-Grant Agreement.

Pilot projects are evaluated using five criteria:

  1. Relevance – clarity of objectives and target groups, and alignment with ScaleDem’s aims and scaling framework;
  2. Impact – potential to address a real democratic challenge and generate meaningful, possibly replicable results;
  3. Team quality – capacity of the team to implement the proposed activities successfully;
  4. Justified resource allocation – coherence between the requested budget, the activities and the expected results;
  5. Sustainability – prospects for lasting use or further development of the pilot’s outcomes.

The indicative timeline for the Piloting call is:

  1. Call opening: 1 December 2025
  2. Application deadline: 31 March 2026 (23:59, local time of the applicant)
  3. Notification of results: around July 2026
  4. Sub-grant agreements signed: by September 2026
  5. Start of pilot activities: autumn 2026

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Further information

This open call is implemented under the Horizon Europe CSA ScaleDem – Scaling Democratic Innovations (GA No. 101178637) and follows the Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) provisions.

All detailed documents, including the Guide for Applicants, Q&A Document, Note on Legal and IP Framework, and the online application form are available at: https://scaledem.eu/call/piloting-programme/

A short Decision Helper / Declaration of Interest is available on the same page. Completing it is strongly recommended (but not mandatory) to help applicants check eligibility.

Note that two informative sessions will be organised in January:

  1. 20th January 2026, 6 – 8.00 PM CET, LINK
  2. 29th January 2026, 10 – 12.00 AM CET, LINK

For questions on the call content or process, applicants can contact: opencalls@scaledem.eu.

Task description

The ScaleDem Piloting Programme supports real-world testing of innovative and bold ideas to scale democratic innovations and address current democratic challenges. It targets end-users (public authorities, civil society organisations, practitioners, etc.) who want to experiment with new ways of scaling participatory and deliberative practices, especially those emerging from previous EU-funded research.

Each funded pilot will run for up to 12 months, between October 2026 and September 2027, during which the project team must:

  1. identify concrete scaling challenges and test solutions that address at least one of ScaleDem’s four scaling dimensions (High, Out, Deep, In);
  2. implement practical activities (e.g. adapting or expanding citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting processes, digital participation tools, local dialogue formats) in a real-world context;
  3. document results, challenges and lessons learned, contributing to ScaleDem’s emerging Theory of Scaling.

Projects receive financial support in the form of a lump-sum grant (up to EUR 100,000 per pilot), together with capacity-building, peer-to-peer exchange and mentoring from the ScaleDem consortium. Up to 5 pilots will be funded.

The call is open to public authorities, civil society and non-profit organisations, research institutions, universities, think tanks, SMEs and similar innovation-driven stakeholders, established in countries eligible under the call HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-12. Applications may be submitted by single organisations or consortia.

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