Funding programme

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation.

Cluster 1 aims to improve and protect the health and well-being of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating where relevant a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases. Further aims include developing health technologies, mitigating health risks, protecting populations and promoting good health and well-being in general and at work. This cluster also aims to make public health systems more cost-effective, equitable and sustainable, prevent and tackle poverty-related diseases and support and enable patients' participation and self-management.

‍

Call overview

This call aims to explore new ways to improve the quality of life of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families and to reduce the negative impact of the disability in their daily lives from different perspectives.

‍

Expected Outcome

This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing to one or several expected impacts of destination “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim to deliver results that are directed at, tailored towards and contributing to several of the following expected outcomes:

• Persons with intellectual disabilities and their families enjoy an improved quality of life, are empowered and have more independence through the support of innovative research.
• The scientific community develops innovative solutions - medical, technological, digital or others - to reverse and/or reduce the severity level of the intellectual disability as soon as possible, especially in children, improving the health and autonomy of persons with intellectual disabilities and relieving their carers.
• Policymakers, health and care services, patient organisations, funders, the scientific community, and other relevant bodies are informed of the research advances and best practices addressing the health and needs of persons with intellectual disabilities and help reduce the impact of those disabilities on individuals, their families and society.

‍

Scope

The focus of this topic is human-centred on the persons with long-term intellectual disabilities and their formal and informal carers, including families. The life expectancy of persons with intellectual disabilities has increased in the last 20 years, which makes it even more important to analyse the role of their families acting as informal carers (e.g. ageing parents).

The objective of this topic is to explore new ways to improve the quality of life of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families and to reduce to the maximum possible the negative impact of the disability in their daily lives from different perspectives, such as medical, technological, digital or others. A key element to improve their quality of life is to prevent the worsening of the disability or conditions originating it. Thus, research needs to look from different perspectives into finding the causes of the disease(s) originating the disability and/or reducing as much as possible its level of severity.

Innovative solutions are needed to provide novel medicines, diagnoses, treatments, protocols, technologies or digital solutions, etc. that can help in an early stage to prevent the worsening of the intellectual disability and/or related co-morbidities, reverse or reduce it, and to improve the autonomy of affected persons and relieve their carers.

Research actions under this topic should address several of the following areas:

• To properly diagnose as early as possible the disease(s) causing the intellectual disability or conditions worsening them, especially in the case of children, and paying attention to sex and gender-related differences and diagnostic biases.
• Deliver the necessary medical treatments, diagnoses, medicines, protocols, technologies, digital solutions, habilitation and/or rehabilitation services, etc. that can help preventing the worsening of the intellectual disability, reversing it or reducing its severity, while supporting the empowerment of the person with intellectual disabilities. Any health technology or medical intervention developed for human use must comply with the relevant regulatory requirements and be based on sound scientific evidence to ensure safety and efficacy.
• Tackle comorbidities or other disabilities that persons with intellectual disabilities may suffer from, with awareness of sex and gender-related differences.
• Provide evidence-based approaches for transitional care for young adults with intellectual disabilities, addressing also sex and gender-specific challenges and needs, the transition from paediatric to adult care being perceived as complex to navigate.
• Promote the empowerment among persons with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, and whenever possible remove barriers persons with intellectual disabilities face for their participation in society. If applicable, with the support of assistive technologies and digital solutions, ensure optimal autonomy of persons with intellectual disabilities, facilitate and improve the treatment of persons with intellectual disabilities, and help also the family members and close carers to better support persons with intellectual disabilities. Such technologies must adhere to the relevant standards and be grounded in scientific evidence.
• Propose innovative solutions for high quality, accessible - including cognitively accessible - and affordable care services, to allow carers of persons with intellectual disabilities to better balance their work and family lives. The role of informal/unpaid carers, especially family members, is of key importance for persons with intellectual disabilities. For many persons with intellectual disabilities, the lack of care services and insufficient support for families and personal assistance undermines their quality of life and their rights and possibility to live as independently as possible.
• Develop innovative integrated care strategies - strengthening patient-centred care - to improve the Quality of Life of persons with intellectual disabilities of any age, and their families, paying special attention to persons with intellectual disabilities with the highest vulnerability because of their high dependency on carers (formal and/or informal), multiple disabilities and need of adapted and special care (medical, social, educational and psychological dimensions).
• Develop guidelines in order to provide adequate support and training for caregivers, formal and informal, especially for those providing care for persons with intellectual disabilities and/or living with them, and also addressing the issue of prevention of and protection from violence since persons with intellectual disabilities are both vulnerable to violence and abuse and can be violent towards care givers and family members.

Applicants are encouraged to include patients, their families and carers in the different stages of the research. Likewise, it is encouraged to involve stakeholders from within and outside the intellectual disabilities sector, in particular policymakers and public authorities, citizens and civil society organisations, end-users and service providers.

‍

‍Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

• the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
• the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
• countries associated to Horizon Europe;
• low- and middle-income countries.

See specifics in the General Annexes document.

Consortium composition

Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

• at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
• at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

If eligible for funding, legal entities established in non-associated third countries may exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action as a beneficiary or affiliated entity.

‍

Project Duration

The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the grant agreement.

‍

Budget

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40 000 000.

The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

‍