European Social Innovation Competition 2024 opens: call for ideas on digital democracy

Brussels, April 12th 2024

Summary

›The European Commission opened the 12th European Social Innovation Competition on 12 April 2024 with the theme Digital democracy
›Three prizes totalling EUR 150 000 will be awarded: EUR 75 000, EUR 50 000 and EUR 25 000
›Applications are open to individuals and organisations established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries until 11 June 2024 at 17:00 CET
›Proposals are judged on innovation, usability and inclusiveness, social impact, viability, scalability and decentralised governance
›Applicants must register via EU Login and the Participant Register and follow Funding & Tenders Portal procedures; proposals are limited to a 15 page Part B

European Social Innovation Competition 2024 — Digital democracy challenge

On 12 April 2024 the European Commission launched the 12th edition of the European Social Innovation Competition. Funded by the European Innovation Council under Horizon Europe and managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the prize seeks social innovation projects that address societal challenges and foster sustainable and inclusive growth. The 2024 edition focuses on social innovation in Digital democracy.

What the Competition is looking for

The Competition aims to surface practical, scalable ideas that strengthen democratic practices in digital environments. The Commission frames the brief around problems such as disinformation, online polarisation, algorithmic opacity, unequal access to participation, and the need for inclusive civic spaces. Organisers expect both technological and non‑technological solutions. The emphasis is on social impact, participation, open technologies and models that build grassroots communities and civil society capacity.

Digital democracy:A broad term covering the use of digital tools and platforms to enable democratic participation, consultation, deliberation and civic engagement. It includes challenges such as online disinformation, barriers to participation, platform governance and attempts to use open technologies to expand transparency and accountability.

Digital commons:Shared digital resources that are created and stewarded collectively. Examples include open source software, open hardware designs and public data sets. The Competition encourages approaches that build or use digital commons to support civic participation and democratic practices.

Decidim and deliberative platforms:Decidim is an example of open source civic software for participatory democracy. The Competition highlights connecting actors using such tools, including public consultation and deliberation platforms, as a pathway to strengthen community participation and experimentation with democratic models.

Prizes, budget and practical details

Three winners will share the prize pot. The first prize is EUR 75 000, second EUR 50 000 and third EUR 25 000. Total prize money is EUR 150 000. The call opened on 9 April 2024 and closed on 11 June 2024 at 17:00 CET. Applications were to be submitted through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Item	Detail	Notes
Theme	Digital democracy
Total prize fund	EUR 150 000	EUR 75k / 50k / 25k
Call opens	9 April 2024
Call closes	11 June 2024, 17:00 CET
Eligible countries	EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries	Applicants must be established in these countries and activities must take place there
Application format	Part A online; Part B uploaded as PDF	Part B limited to 15 pages
Managing body	EISMEA on behalf of the European Innovation Council

Who can apply and eligibility rules

The competition is open to natural persons and legal entities established in EU Member States including overseas countries and territories and Horizon Europe associated countries. Eligible applicants include non‑profits and for‑profits, social enterprises, NGOs, civil society organisations, educational institutions and entrepreneurs. Previous winners of EUSIC categories are not eligible to win again for the same activities. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are ineligible.

Registration requirements:Applicants must have EU Login credentials and a Participant Identification Code (PIC) from the Participant Register before submission. Part A is filled in online and Part B is uploaded as a PDF to the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Application content and limits:The technical description (Part B) has a strict 15 page limit. Applicants must provide accessible, readable and printable submissions. Organisers may request additional documentation later such as legal entity validation, bank details and ethics documents.

Evaluation, scoring and selection process

Independent experts and a jury evaluate submissions. If the competition receives more than 60 applications a pre‑selection stage will shortlist the top 60 proposals for jury review. Assessments include ethics, security and administrative checks before award decisions. The three highest scoring entries are awarded the prizes.

Award criteria	What evaluators look for	Scoring
Degree of innovation	Novelty of product, service or organisational model in its context	0–10 (minimum 6)
Usability and inclusiveness	Ease of use, affordability and ability to engage diverse citizens	0–10 (minimum 6)
Positive social impact	Potential to address the competition challenge and foster partnerships	0–10 (minimum 6)
Viability and sustainability	Financial and environmental durability and a sustainability plan	0–10 (minimum 6)
Scalability and replicability	Potential to scale or be replicated across levels and regions	0–10 (minimum 6)
Decentralisation and governance	Improvements in transparency and accountability while respecting privacy	0–10 (minimum 6)
Overall	All criteria combined	Maximum 60 points. Overall minimum 36 to pass

Tie breaking and thresholds:Proposals must meet both individual criterion thresholds and the overall threshold. If tied, the jury applies a priority order where the Degree of innovation receives weight 2 and Usability and inclusiveness receives weight 1.5. If a tie persists, the prize may be divided equally.

Legal, ethical and administrative safeguards

Submissions must comply with EU and national legal and ethical standards. Solutions that significantly harm the environment, contravene the 'do no significant harm' principle or discriminate will be ineligible. Security sensitive proposals requiring classified handling may be excluded. The Competition is subject to routine EU checks and audits including by OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and EPPO where relevant.

Do no significant harm principle:This EU principle requires that supported activities do not cause significant harm to environmental objectives. Proposals that materially undermine environmental or social welfare are disqualified.

Publication and visibility:Winners must acknowledge EU funding, display the EU emblem and use a standard disclaimer when communicating about the prize. The awarding authority may publish winners' basic details on official EU websites unless there are legitimate confidentiality reasons.

Application mechanics and timeline

Applicants submitted Part A administrative information directly in the Funding & Tenders Portal. Part B technical description was to be downloaded from the submission system, completed and uploaded as a PDF. The jury evaluated proposals between June and October 2024 and results were due to be communicated between October 2024 and March 2025. Prize payments are made after the award ceremony and once requested documentation has been checked.

Administrative checks:Before awarding the prize organisers perform legal entity validation, non‑exclusion checks, plagiarism screening and checks against double funding. Applicants may be asked to provide identity documents and confirmation of their legal or contractual links where interviews are held in person.

Context within EU innovation policy

The European Social Innovation Competition is one of the EIC Prizes administered under Horizon Europe. Launched in 2013 in memory of Diogo Vasconcelos, the competition aims to spotlight social innovation rather than to provide long term scaling finance. The European Innovation Council is a high profile EU instrument that also delivers grants and equity via the EIC Accelerator and EIC Fund. The competition is managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency which runs EIC programmes and other SME and single market initiatives.

Why prizes matter and their limits:Recognition prizes can raise visibility, provide early cash and open doors to networks. However prize sums are small relative to the capital needed to scale digital platforms or community infrastructure. Judges and experts assess many qualitative dimensions that are inherently subjective. For long term impact, social innovations usually require follow‑up investment, operational support and regulatory engagement that a prize alone cannot deliver.

Past themes and learning

The competition has run annually on rotating themes including energy poverty (2023), affordable housing districts (2022), skills for a green and digital future (2021) and earlier topics from fashion to plastic waste. The prize has a track record of drawing diverse applicants but the Commission and organisers have repeatedly signalled that follow‑on support is critical to convert prize visibility into systemic change.

How to follow and where to get more information

The call was live on the Funding & Tenders Portal and the official EUSIC pages. Queries related to the call were handled by EISMEA at EISMEA-EUSIC@ec.europa.eu. The competition used social media tags such as #diogochallenge and #EUSIC. Applicants were advised to consult the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and the Portal helpdesk for technical submission support.

Useful contacts and resources:Funding & Tenders Portal for submissions and document templates. EISMEA for call queries. National Contact Points for national level support. The Portal IT Helpdesk for technical issues. Applicants should read the Rules of Contest, the EIC Work Programme and the Horizon Europe guidance documents before applying.

Takeaways for prospective applicants

If your project aims to strengthen democratic practice through technology or community design consider whether you can show novelty in context, a clear route to inclusion, measurable social impact and a credible plan to sustain and scale the idea. Prepare application paperwork and registrations early and stick to the 15 page limit. Understand that a recognition prize can boost visibility but will usually need to be coupled with further support to scale a digital democratic innovation.