All areas of the European Green Deal, from climate action to zero pollution, require considerable changes in societal practices and in the behaviour of individuals, communities, and public and private organisations. Several foci of behaviour and mind-set are at play in interconnected ways: concerns for personal health and well-being; for the planet; for decent work; for fairness and solidarity, etc. Ways of combining individual, collective socio-economic and environmental benefits should be sought.

Disadvantaged and vulnerable social groups and communities most affected by the transition need special attention. Their existing practices, for example, may combine environmentally friendly, circular habits with practices that are detrimental to both their own health and to the environment (from dietary choices, mobility and travel behaviour to inappropriate use, reuse and disposing of materials), but to which they see no feasible alternatives. Similarly, differences of perception (in different EU regions, among different social groups, across genders and various age groups) of the urgency of the climate change and other environmental issues, on the most appropriate measures needed and also on the urgency of related behaviour change, need focused attention.

Addressing these issues requires research and experimentation on behavioural, social and cultural change across Europe, founded on transdisciplinary expertise and strong ethical and methodological standards. Moreover, these actions should be accompanied with comparative research and feedback to ensure continuous monitoring and learning, foresee robust impact evaluation methods and take account of possible trade-offs, unintended consequences or rebound effects.

Funding

Between 3 and 5 million euro per project. Funding rate: 100%.

Scope of the activities

Actions should:

- Address behavioural change at individual and collective levels, including public and private organisations, as well as broader changes in social practices related to the European Green Deal.

- Establish transnational and transdisciplinary networks of experts, researchers, practitioners and relevant civil society organisations on behavioural, social and cultural change.

- Analyse social practices and behavioural change processes, share good practice, tools and resources and implement relevant experimentation on priority issues to deliver on the European Green Deal.

- Include several experimental studies, each implemented in at least four Member States and/or Associated Countries.

Vulnerable and marginalised people, minorities and various age groups, including both youth and the older generation, should be considered in analysis and included in experimentation. Gendered issues should receive specific consideration. Change at the workplace and future of work-related issues should also be addressed, including teleworking, as well as change in and by collective entities such as the behaviour of businesses and social partners and their shift towards sustainable business models, the behaviour of public services and other organisations.

Actions should therefore propose a transdisciplinary approach to behavioural change, looking at system dynamics and integrating historical, cultural, societal, economic and psychological perspectives, as well as gender studies and intersectional research. For example, disciplines such as anthropology, cultural psychology, cultural studies, semiotics and sociology can shed light on cultural change as one of the crucial preconditions of behavioural change, whereas engaging social and economic psychology may help to establish a more nuanced concept of human behaviour itself.

Actions should address the feedback loops between behavioural change and the evolution of the broader context, including with regard to socio-economic resilience and stability. They should also consider the full impact of behavioural change, including trade-offs, side and rebound effects.

An advisory board should ensure the scientific soundness, ethical and unbiased character of the planned experiments and vet the methodologies and conditions of implementation of each individual exercise.

Eligible applicants

Any public and private organization established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country.

Partnership Criteria

A project must involve a minimum of 3 organisations from 3 eligible countries. A balanced overall coverage of EU Member States and Associated Countries should be sought. National and local governments and administrations should be associated from an early stage, including, to the extent possible, links with similar initiatives at these levels and with their policy and regulatory actions.

Deadline: 26 January 2021

In case of interest, please contact with FSJD Research Department.