Democratic politics and governance in Europe are facing turbulent times. This not only affects the institutions of government, but the wider structures and processes that make democratic societies work. In order to respond to them, we require an understanding of the nature, causes and consequences of these challenges, as well as assessments of how governments, political parties, interest groups and other societal actors can effectively address them. With this proposal for a research programme on the topic of governance, NORFACE offers a timely investigation of the precise nature of the turbulence, but also how European states can negotiate it and develop strategies to enhance the quality of democratic politics and governance. The proposed programme will focus on themes derived from five critical challenges to democratic governance and the responses to them: inequality and redistribution, the evolving politics of threat, democratisation of information, shifting identities and representation, and the changing authority of institutions. Through collaborative cross-disciplinary research based on cross-national, historical and/or longitudinal comparison, the programme will develop theoretically ambitious and empirically founded insights to enrich the knowledge base upon which to build new institutions, policies and practices and reshape existing ones for a reflective, inclusive and innovative society. NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Cooperation in Europe) is a collaborative partnership of national research funding agencies in the area of social and behavioural sciences. Since 2004, NORFACE has been committed to leading and developing opportunities for social scientists in Europe by developing thematic joint research programmes; building capacity for transnational and interdisciplinary research; advocating for the societal value of the social sciences; and sharing excellence in research management practices and procedures.

The ERA-NET Urban Accessibility and Connectivity proposal responds to the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge “Smart, green and integrated transport” 2019 Call topic Supporting Joint Actions on sustainable urban accessibility and connectivity. EN-UAC is pooling resources from 22 research and innovation funding organizations of 16 countries to implement joint actions in the area of urban mobility, accessibility and connectivity. EN-UAC emerged from the JPI Urban Europe, the topic being a priority identified in its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. EN-UAC aims to create and consolidate a transnational ecosystem for inter- and transdisciplinary research and innovation and enhanced science-policy cooperation to drive transitions towards such sustainable, inclusive models for urban accessibility and connectivity. This will be achieved by the following objectives: - implement several joint calls for research and innovation projects that address cities’ needs, and ensure stakeholder involvement, offering cities, mobility, transport and logistic service providers and all urban stakeholders opportunities to experiment and co-create the approaches and solutions; - use adapted call instruments to support research-driven as well as challenge-driven/innovation approaches, and help the alignment of existing, on-going research activities; - facilitate wider communication, dissemination and exploitation of results towards policy makers, urban practitioners and citizens to enhance impact of EN-UAC projects in Europe and beyond; - develop cooperation between JPI Urban Europe/EN-UAC actions and other EC funded actions like CIVITAS initiatives and ELTIS database; - establish a community of research and practice to build capacities for transitions towards sustainable urban mobility and integrate other H2020, national and international projects into this community, taking advantage of the existing JPI Urban Europe programme management and stakeholder involvement platform.

CHANSE, Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe, is a joint initiative of 27 research funding organisations from 24 countries. The CHANSE Programme builds on the experience of two existing networks: HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) and NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Cooperation in Europe) supporting research in humanities and social sciences respectively. The main goal of the CHANSE inititive is to launch a transnational call for collaborative projects focused on the topic of Transformations: Social and cultural dynamics in the digital age. The objective of this call will be to help understand how digital innovations give rise to social and cultural changes, and are also influenced by society and culture. The joint research call combines the analytic and transformative powers of the humanities and social sciences in understanding processes of change and considering solutions when societies face the introduction of innovations. With a budget of over EUR 36 million, including expected EC co-funding, CHANSE consortium plans to fund excellent research projects conducted by research teams from at least three countries involved in the Programme. CHANSE will strive to produce a lasting effect on the research landscape by cultivating durable research collaboration across multiple national and regional borders, disciplinary boundaries, and stakeholders, thus supporting the sharing of excellence and promoting widening participation in the European Research Area. CHANSE will also strongly support knowledge exchange activities and foster relationships between academia and relevant stakeholders, as well as explore and develop new joint actions. By offering new opportunities for international research cooperation in a critical area of enquiry, the CHANSE Programme will deliver a broad range of academic, societal and economic impacts within, across and beyond the partner countries.

The DUT Partnership builds upon and steps up the ambition and efforts of the Joint Programming Initiative Urban Europe (JPI UE). With its partners from 28 countries, the DUT Partnership aims at developing and implementing a transformative research and innovation (R&I) programme to strengthen urban transitions towards climate-neutral, inclusive and sustainable urban areas. With national and regional R&I programme owners, funders and urban policy-related public authorities, DUT is strongly building upon and aligning with national and regional strategies and policies. In order to support cities along their specific strategies, the Partnership focuses on three critical urban sectors, energy, mobility and circular economy, and their interrelations. Three Transition Pathways (TPs) – Positive Energy Districts (PED), the 15-minute City (15minC) and Circular Urban Economies (CUE) – will be addressed with a long-term perspective. DUT will not only provide funding for transnational R&I projects in and across these areas through implementing co-funded JCs, but establish a comprehensive programme management to support capacity building and enhance the (policy) impact of these projects and their results. In this regard, programme activities will address capacity building and empowerment of all urban stakeholder groups to engage in urban R&I and co-design solutions. Urban living labs (ULLs) will be fostered as an important concept to support local experimentation and inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration. New approaches towards dissemination and mainstreaming of research results will be developed with the ambition to bring results into our cities. Strategic synthesis, as well as recommendations and references for policy making will be provided with particular focus on contributions to the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU), the European mission for climate-neutral and smart cities (CNSC) and the European Green Deal (EGD). Efforts will be taken to position the DUT Partnership internationally and mobilise international partners to join forces in DUT.