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 scope of this topic is set by the definitions provided by ‘The international classification of diseases’ - World Health Organization (WHO) ICD11 under ‘6A00: Disorders of intellectual development’[1] and under ‘20: Developmental anomalies’ [2] including disorders of intellectual development, such as ‘LD40: Complete trisomies of the autosomes’[3] and ‘LD90: Conditions with disorders of intellectual development as a relevant clinical feature’[4]. Moreover, the three types of autism with disorders of intellectual development (6A02.1, 6A02.3 and 6A02.5) under ‘6A02: Autism spectrum disorder’ [5] are also within the scope of this topic.

The focus of this topic is human-centred on the persons with long-term intellectual disabilities[6] 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.

This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

All projects funded under this topic are encouraged to participate in networking and joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Therefore, proposals are expected to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant agreement preparation phase.

Projects are also encouraged to explore potential complementarities with projects funded under the Cluster 2 topic HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-TRANSFO-09: “Good practices for increased autonomy of persons with disabilities, including physical, mental, intellectual and sensory disabilities” are encouraged.

Applicants invited to the second stage and envisaging to include clinical studies[7] should provide details of their clinical studies in the dedicated annex using the template provided in the submission system.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1️⃣ Strong, Mission-Aligned Impact (Most Important Across EC Calls)

The EC is impact-driven: proposals must show how the project will:

Solve a major European or global societal challenge

Deliver measurable, lasting benefits for EU citizens

Produce outputs that can be used by policymakers, industry, or society

Align with Horizon Europe missions, priorities, and strategic agendas

Predictor: Clear, quantifiable, EU-level impact → strongest scoring factor.

2️⃣ Clear, Ambitious, but Achievable Objectives

Successful proposals show:

2–4 well-defined objectives linked to the Work Programme call text

Clearly articulated research questions or innovation goals

Logical, realistic expected outcomes and deliverables

Feasible scientific and technical approaches

Predictor: Balanced ambition + feasibility.

3️⃣ Excellent, Cutting-Edge Science or Innovation

For RIA/IA/CSA or ERC-level grants, reviewers expect:

High novelty and innovation

Strong grounding in current state-of-the-art

Clear advancement beyond existing approaches

Solid theoretical or experimental foundations

Robust methodological design

Predictor: Scientific excellence is essential for competitive scoring.

4️⃣ Strong Consortium with Complementary Expertise

EC proposals are consortium-driven (except ERC/EIC Accelerator).

High-scoring consortia:

Cover all needed competencies (science, industry, policy, ethics, dissemination)

Include SMEs, industry partners, NGOs, and public bodies when relevant

Are geographically diverse across EU Member States and Associated Countries

Demonstrate strong leadership and communication structures

Predictor: Well-constructed consortium with clear roles.

5️⃣ Clear Pathway From Outputs → Outcomes → Impact

Evaluators look for a credible trajectory showing:

How research leads to specific outputs (data, tools, prototypes)

How outputs lead to uptake or use

How use produces societal, economic, scientific, or policy impact

Strong Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and impact metrics

Predictor: Clearly mapped impact pathway.

6️⃣ Strong Implementation Plan (Work Packages, Deliverables, Gantt Chart)

Winning proposals have:

Well-designed Work Packages (WPs) with clear scope and responsibilities

Interdependencies identified and risk-mitigation strategies

Detailed milestones and deliverables

Feasible budget aligned with tasks

Strong project management plan

Predictor: High implementation quality boosts the “Excellence” and “Implementation” scores.

7️⃣ Policy Relevance and Contribution to EU Strategies

Especially critical for health, climate, digital, and social calls.

Proposals score higher when they link to:

EU Cancer Mission

EU Green Deal

Digital Europe strategy

EU Biodiversity Strategy

EU Health Union & One Health

Open Science & FAIR data mandates

Predictor: Clear alignment with EU policies.

8️⃣ Strong Stakeholder & Citizen Engagement (Especially in Social & Health Missions)

EC values inclusivity:

Patient groups

Civil society organizations

Public sector bodies

Regulatory agencies

Citizen science components

Stakeholder letters of intent or commitment strengthen credibility.

Predictor: Engagement adds impact and relevance.

9️⃣ Robust Data Management, Open Science, and Ethics

Mandatory components include:

FAIR Data Management Plan

Open access publications

Ethics self-assessment

GDPR compliance

Data security, governance, and ethical approvals

Animal-use reduction and justification (if applicable)

Predictor: Clear compliance with ethical and data obligations.

10️⃣ Well-Justified Budget and Resource Allocation

Budget must be:

Proportional to tasks

Transparent and reasonable

Efficiently distributed among partners

Free from padding or unjustified costs

Predictor: Realistic budgets improve Implementation scores.

🚫 COMMON PITFALLS THAT LEAD TO EC GRANT REJECTION