6. EUROPE IN A CHANGING WORLD - INCLUSIVE, INNOVATIVE AND REFLECTIVE SOCIETIES

This section includes research and innovation activities contributing to make societies more inclusive, innovative and reflective, and also specific measures supporting particular cross-cutting issues mentioned in this societal challenge Without prejudice to the budget allocated to this societal challenge. . Current trends at play in European societies bring with them opportunities for a more united Europe but also risks and challenges. These opportunities, risks and challenges need to be understood and anticipated in order for Europe to evolve with adequate solidarity and cooperation at social, economic, political, educational and cultural levels, taking into account an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. In this context, the objective is to understand, analyse and develop social, economic and political inclusion, as well as inclusive labour markets, combat poverty and marginalisation, enhance human rights, digital inclusiveness, equality, solidarity and inter-cultural dynamics by supporting cutting-edge science, interdisciplinary research, development of indicators, technological advances, organisational innovations, development of regional innovation clusters and new forms of collaboration and co-creation. Research and other activities shall support the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy as well as other relevant Union policies. Social sciences and humanities research has a leading role to play in this context. Specifying, monitoring, assessing and addressing the objectives of European strategies and policies will require focused research that allows policy makers to analyse and assess the impact and effectiveness of envisaged measures, in particular in favour of social inclusion. To this end, full societal inclusion and participation must encompass all areas of life and all ages. The following specific objectives will be pursued to understand and foster or implement: Europe has developed a specific and rather unique combination of economic progress, social policies aimed at a high level of social cohesion, humanistic shared cultural values embracing democracy and the rule of law, human rights, respect and preservation of diversity, as well as the promotion of education and science, arts and humanities as fundamental drivers of social and economic progress and well-being. The constant quest for economic growth carries a number of important human, social, environmental and economic costs. A smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe implies substantial changes in the way growth and societal well-being are defined, measured (including through the measurement of progress beyond the commonly used GDP indicator), generated and sustained over time. Research will analyse the development of citizen participation, sustainable lifestyles, cultural understanding and socio-economic behaviours and values and how they relate to paradigms, policies and to the functioning of institutions, communities, markets, firms, governance and belief systems in Europe and their relations with other regions and economies. It will develop tools for a better assessment of the contextual and mutual impacts of such evolutions, compare public policies against the variety of challenges across Europe, and analyse policy options and decision making mechanisms in areas such as employment, taxation, inequalities, poverty, social inclusion, education and skills, community development, competitiveness and the internal market with a view to understanding the new conditions and opportunities for greater European integration and the role of its social, cultural, scientific and economic components and synergies as sources of comparative Union advantages at world level. Demographic change due to ageing societies and migration movements will be analysed in terms of its implications for growth, the labour market and well-being. In this context, to be able to tackle the challenge of future growth, it is important to take into account the different components of knowledge, focusing research on learning, education and training issues, or on the role and place of young people in the society. Research will also develop better tools for assessing sustainability impacts of different economic policies. It will also analyse how national economies evolve and which forms of governance at European and international level could help prevent macro-economic imbalances, monetary difficulties, fiscal competition, unemployment and employment problems and other forms of societal, economic and financial disorders. It will take into account the growing interdependencies between Union and global economies, markets and financial systems and resulting challenges for institutional development and public administration. Against the background of the European public debt crisis, emphasis will also be put on research to define the framework conditions for stable European financial and economic systems. Understanding social, cultural and political transformations in Europe requires the analysis of changing democratic practices and expectations as well as of the historical evolution of identities, diversity, territories, religions, cultures, languages and values. This includes a good understanding of the history of European integration. Research will seek to identify ways to adapt and improve the European welfare systems, public services and the broader social security dimension of policies in order to achieve cohesion and gender equality, to foster participatory, open and creative societies and to promote social and economic equality and intergenerational solidarity. Research will analyse how societies and politics become more European in a broad sense through evolutions of identities, cultures and values, the circulation of knowledge, ideas and beliefs and combinations of principles and practices of reciprocity, commonality and equality, paying particular attention to migration, integration and demographic change. It will analyse how vulnerable populations (e.g. Roma) can participate fully in education, society and democracy, notably through the acquisition of various skills and the protection of human rights. The analysis of how political systems evolve and also respond to the above-mentioned social evolutions will thus be central. Research will also address the evolution of key systems that provide underlying forms of human and social bonds, such as family, work, education and employment, and help to combat social inequalities, exclusion and poverty.Social cohesion and fair and reliable justice, education, democracy, tolerance and diversity are factors that need to be carefully considered with a view to identifying and better exploiting European comparative advantages at world level and to providing improved evidence-based support to policies. Research will take into account the importance of mobility and migration, including intra-European flows, and demography in the future development of European policies. In addition, understanding the strains and opportunities arising from the uptake of ICT, both at individual and collective levels, is important in order to open new paths of inclusive innovation. Given the increasing socio-economic importance of digital inclusion, research and innovation actions will promote inclusive ICT solutions and the effective acquisition of digital skills leading to the empowerment of citizens and a competitive workforce. Emphasis will be given to new technological advances that will enable a radical improvement in personalisation, user-friendliness and accessibility through a better understanding of citizen, consumer and user behaviours and values, including persons with disabilities. This will require an "inclusion by design" research and innovation approach. Europe's distinct historical, political, social and cultural system is increasingly confronted with the impact of global changes. In order to further develop its external action in its neighbourhood and beyond and its role as a global actor, Europe has to improve its capacities for defining, prioritising, explaining, assessing and promoting its policy objectives in interaction with other world regions and societies to further cooperation or prevent or solve conflicts. In this regard, it also has to improve its capacities for anticipating and responding to the evolution and impacts of globalisation. This requires a greater understanding of and learning from the history, cultures and political-economic systems of other world regions, as well as of the role and influence of transnational actors. Finally, Europe also has to contribute effectively to global governance and global justice, in key domains like trade, development, work, economic cooperation, environment, education, gender equality and human rights, defence and security. This implies the potential to build new capacities whether in terms of tools, services, systems and instruments of analysis or in terms of diplomacy in formal and informal international arena with governmental and non-governmental actors. 80 % of Union citizens live today in and around cities, and inadequate urban planning and design can thus have tremendous consequences on their lives. Understanding how they function for all citizens, as well as understanding their design, liveability and their attractiveness to, inter alia, investment and skills, is critical to Europe's success in creating growth, jobs and a sustainable future. European research and innovation should provide tools and methods for a more sustainable, open, innovative and inclusive urban and peri-urban planning and design; a better understanding of the dynamics of urban societies and social changes and of the nexus of energy, environment, transport and land-use, including the interplay with surrounding rural areas; an improved understanding of design and use of public space within cities, also in the context of migration, to improve social inclusion and development and reduce urban risks and crime; new ways to reduce pressures on natural resources and stimulate sustainable economic growth while improving the quality of life of European urban citizens; and a forward-looking vision on the socio-ecological transition towards a new model of urban development reinforcing Union cities as hubs of innovation and centres of job creation and social cohesion. The Union share of global knowledge production remains considerable, yet its socio-economic impacts need to be maximised. Efforts will be made to increase the efficiency of research and innovation policies and their transnational policy synergies and coherence. Innovation will be addressed in a wide sense, including large-scale policy, social-, user- and market-driven innovation. The experience and innovative power of creative and cultural Industries will be taken into account. These activities will support the achievement and functioning of the ERA and in particular the Europe 2020 flagship initiatives 'Innovation Union' and the 'Digital Agenda for Europe'. The following specific objectives will be pursued: In order to assess and prioritise investments and strengthen the Innovation Union and the ERA, the analysis of research, education and innovation policies, systems and actors in Europe and third countries as well as the development of indicators, data and information infrastructures will be supported. Forward-looking activities and pilot initiatives, economic and gender analysis, policy monitoring, mutual learning, coordination tools and activities and the development of methodologies for impact assessment and evaluations will also be needed, exploiting direct feedback from stakeholders, enterprises, public authorities, civil society organisations and citizens. This analysis should be conducted in coherence with studies on higher education systems in Europe and third countries within the Erasmus+ programme. To ensure a single market for research and innovation, measures to incentivise ERA compatible behaviour will be implemented. Activities underpinning policies related to the quality of research training, mobility and career development of researchers will be supported, including initiatives to provide for mobility services, open recruitment, women's participation in the sciences, researchers' rights and links with global researcher communities. These activities will be implemented seeking synergies and close coordination with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under the priority 'Excellent science'. Institutions presenting innovative concepts for the rapid implementation of ERA principles, including the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, the Commission Recommendation on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities and Code of Practice for universities and other public research institutions COM(2008) 1329 final, 10.4.2008. , will be supported. As regards coordination of policies, a facility for policy advice will be set up to make expert policy advice available to national authorities when defining their National Reform Programmes and research and innovation strategies. To implement the Innovation Union flagship initiative, there is also a need to support market-driven innovation, open innovation, public sector and social innovation in view of enhancing the innovation capacity of firms and fostering European competitiveness. This will require improving the overall framework conditions for innovation as well as tackling the specific barriers preventing the growth of innovative firms. Powerful innovation support mechanisms (such as improved cluster management, public-private partnerships and network cooperation), highly specialised innovation support services (on e.g. IP management/exploitation, networking of IPR owners and users, innovation management, entrepreneurship skills, and networks of procurers) and reviews of public policies in relation to innovation will be supported. Issues specific to SMEs will be supported under the specific objective 'Innovation in SMEs'. Social innovation generates new goods, services, processes and models that meet societal needs and create new social relationships. As means of innovation are constantly changing, further research is needed into the development of all forms of innovation and the way innovation meets the needs of society. It is important to understand how social innovation and creativity may lead to change in existing structures, practices and policies and how they can be encouraged and scaled-up. It is important to assess the impact of on-line platforms on networking citizens. Support will also be given to the use of design in companies, networking and experimentation of the use of ICT for improving learning processes, as well as to networks of social innovators and social entrepreneurs. Research will also focus on the processes of innovation and how they develop, succeed or fail (including risk taking and the role of different regulatory environments). It will be essential to promote innovation in order to foster efficient, open and citizen-centric public services (e.g. eGovernment). This will require multidisciplinary research on new technologies and large-scale innovation related in particular to digital privacy, interoperability, personalised electronic identification, open data, dynamic user interfaces, lifelong learning and e-learning platforms, distributed learning systems, citizen-centric public service configuration and integration and innovation driven by users, including in social sciences and the humanities. Such actions will also address social network dynamics and crowd-sourcing and smart-sourcing for co-production of solutions addressing social problems, based, for example, on open data sets. They will help to manage complex decision making, in particular the handling and analysis of huge quantities of data for collaborative policy modelling, simulation of decision making, visualisation techniques, process modelling and participatory systems as well as to analyse changing relationships between citizens and the public sector. Specific measures shall be developed to involve the public sector as an agent for innovation and change, at national and Union level, in particular through policy support and cross-border innovation measures at the widest geographical level enabling the smart use of ICT in and by public administrations for seamless delivery of public services for citizens and businesses. Activities will contribute to exploring Europe's opportunities to innovate in terms of new products and technologies, improved services and new business and social models adapted to the changing demographic structure of the society. Activities will enhance taking advantage of the potential of all generations by fostering the development of smart policies to make active ageing a reality in an evolving intergenerational context and by supporting the integration of the generations of young Europeans in all domains of social, political, cultural and economic life, taking into account, amongst others, perception of opportunities for innovation in the context of high unemployment in many Union regions. Horizontal activities will ensure the strategic development of international cooperation across Horizon 2020 and address cross-cutting policy objectives. Activities to support bilateral, multilateral and bi-regional policy dialogues in research and innovation with third countries, regions, international fora and organisations will facilitate policy exchange, mutual learning and priority setting, promote reciprocal access to programmes and monitor the impact of cooperation. Networking and twinning activities will facilitate optimal partnering between research and innovation actors on both sides and improve competencies and cooperation capacity in less advanced third countries. Activities will promote coordination of Union and national cooperation policies and programmes, as well as joint actions of Member States and associated countries with third countries in order to enhance their overall impact. Finally, the European research and innovation 'presence' in third countries will be consolidated and strengthened, notably by exploring the creation of European virtual 'science and innovation houses', the provision of services to European organisations extending their activities into third countries, and the opening of research centres, established jointly with third countries, to organisations or researchers from other Member States and associated countries. The aim is to contribute to an understanding of Europe's intellectual basis, its history and the many European and non-European influences, as an inspiration for our lives today. Europe is characterised by a variety of different peoples (including minorities and indigenous people), traditions and regional and national identities as well as by different levels of economic and societal development. Migration and mobility, media, industry and transport contribute to the diversity of views and lifestyles. This diversity and its opportunities should be recognised and considered. European collections in libraries, including digital ones, archives, museums, galleries and other public institutions have a wealth of rich, untapped documentation and objects for study. These archival resources, together with intangible heritage, represent the history of individual Member States but also the collective heritage of a Union that has emerged through time. Such materials should be made accessible, also through new technologies, to researchers and citizens to enable a look to the future through the archive of the past. Accessibility and preservation of cultural heritage in these forms is needed for the vitality of the living engagements within and across European cultures now and contributes to sustainable economic growth. The focus of activities shall be the following: The activities will contribute to a critical analysis of how a European tangible and non-tangible heritage has developed over time, including language, memories, practices, institutions and identities. They will include studies of the interpretations and practices of cultural interactions, integration and exclusion. An intensified European integration process has underlined that a wider European identity sphere exists – one which complements other types of identities in Europe. A broad spectrum of evidence and testimonies of European identity spheres can be found in European and non-European scientific collections, archives, museums, libraries and cultural heritage sites. They offer materials and documents which enable greater understanding of identity building processes that allow reflections about social, cultural or even economic processes that contribute to past, actual and future forms of European identity. The objective is to develop innovations and to use and analyse objects and/or documentation in cultural and scientific collections, archives and museums to improve our understanding of how European identity can be traced, constructed or debated. The issues of multilingualism, translation and circulation of ideas across Europe and from and to Europe and how they form part of a common European intellectual heritage will be explored. Cultural diversity is an important facet constituting Europe's singularity and providing a source of strength, dynamism and creativity. The activities will address the contemporary European diversity and how this diversity is shaped by history while also helping to analyse how such diversity is conducive to new intercultural developments, or even tensions and conflicts. The role of arts, media, landscapes, literature, languages, philosophy and religions, in relation to this diversity, will be central as they offer various interpretations of the social, political and cultural realities and influence the visions and practices of individuals and social actors. The activities will address the complexity of the socio-economic and cultural links between Europe and other world regions and assess the potential for improved intercultural exchanges and dialogues taking into account broader social, political and economic developments. They will help to analyse the development of various views in Europe on other world regions and vice versa. In order to promote an optimal combination of approaches, cooperation between this societal challenge and the priority "Industrial Leadership" shall be established in the form of cross-cutting actions targeting the field of interaction between humans and technology. Technological innovation based on ICT will play an important role in enhancing the productivity and engaging the creativity of citizens from all generations in an innovative society. Implementation under this societal challenge will also enjoy the support of administration and coordination of international networks for excellent researchers and innovators such as COST and EURAXESS, and therefore also contribute to the ERA. Consideration may be given to support relevant Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) and relevant public-public and public-private partnerships. Appropriate links with the actions of relevant European Innovation Partnerships and the relevant aspects of the research and innovation agendas of European Technology Platforms will also be established. Research and innovation actions under this societal challenge will contribute to implementing the Union's international research and innovation cooperation activities, by engaging more strategically in science, technology and innovation cooperation with its main third country partners. In this regard, the Strategic Forum for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation (SFIC) will continue to give strategic advice to the Council and the Commission on the international dimension of the ERA.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.