Second call for the European Narrative Observatory to fight Disinformation post-COVID 19

• Eligibility:
  – 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).
  – Proposals may be submitted by any of the following applicants or combinations of a non-profit organisation (private or public);
  – public authorities (national, regional, local);
  – International organisations;
  – universities;
  – educational institutions;
  – research centers;
  – profit-making entities.
  – Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc
• Type of funding: Programmatic
• Target countries: EU Member States
• Application language: English

The European Commission (EC) is seeking proposals for the European narrative observatory to fight disinformation post-COVID-19.

The successful proposal will aim to identify and analyze the emergence of narratives regarding the war in Ukraine, the increasing spread of false, harmful narratives related to gender identity and gender expression (gender-based disinformation) often seen in the context of discriminatory or pejorative speech against women, homophobia and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, and examine ways to mitigate the risks posed to societal cohesion, democracy, and fundamental human rights.

Finally, the successful proposal will examine misleading narratives and disinformation around elections, with a special focus on the 2024 European elections, in view of their potential impact on public opinion, voter behaviour, and democratic processes.

Funding information

Themes and Priorities

• The primary aim of this pilot project is to examine how narratives, including false and harmful narratives, emerge and how to reconcile existing narratives with facts through a case-study approach. To that end, the scope of this project is targeted to three specific policy topics of current public interest that can be easily targeted by disinformation and are expected to be examined through a case-study approach:
  – the war in Ukraine;
  – gendered disinformation, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+-related narratives; and
  – elections, with a particular focus on the 2024 European elections.
• The project is expected to analyse dominant narrative patterns related to the above topics across different EU Member States in a minimum of six (6) EU languages, one of which should be English.
• The additional languages should be selected on the basis of a reliable analysis of where disinformation on the three policy topics defined above is more likely to impact public opinions and aim to ensure a balanced geographical coverage of Member States across the EU, as well as a balance between languages spoken by smaller and larger language communities. The applicants are thus encouraged to include reasoning justifying the selection of languages and the purposes served.

Available Budget

• The available call budget is EUR 1.190.500 (one million one hundred and ninety thousand five hundred euros).

Duration of Project

• The duration of the project is expected to be 18 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment). The proposed start date is 01/09/2024.

See here to learn more and apply.

Access the Fundraising Guide for expert advice on how to improve your fundraising applications and to identify prospective donors.