Call for ideas for our 2027 workplan now open!

The procedure for sending in project ideas and proposals for our 2027 work programme is now open. Submit them by 4 January 2027 or 14 December 2026, if submitted in a language other than English.

The projects ideas received will be discussed and approved by the Coppieters Bureau at their next meeting scheduled for January 2027.

Please note, that for 2027, our focus will center on four priority areas:

• Peace promotion and an equitable international system. With a focus on (1) peace promotion and conflict resolution (2) the principle of self-determination and democracy as a tool for conflict prevention (3) promotion of a multilateral international system based on rules and justice.
• Alternatives to the rise of global authoritarism. With a focus on (1) geopolitical studies analysing the current trend of democratic backsliding and resurgence of imperialism in countries with a dominant economic, military, political, or technological position and (2) impact for cultural, national and linguistic diversity and the prevalence of the right to self-determination at international level.
• European models of welfare state. With a focus on (1) implementation and financing of social policies and safety nets (2) intergenerational solidarity (3) sectoral policies to manage social risks, reduce inequality, and provide citizen well-being across distinct domains of public life.
• Ethical technology and Artificial Intelligence. With a focus on (1) the effects of new technologies on the development of democracy and electoral processes, society, and the representation of social and national movements and vulnerable groups; and (2) public policies that encourage technologies and Artificial Intelligence that acknowledge cultural and linguistic diversity.

We also welcome proposals outside these areas, provided they present a compelling vision with a European focus and potential for meaningful political impact.

Preference will be given to projects that prioritise the production of lasting, tangible outputs (e.g. studies, policy papers, reports or other reusable resources) over standalone meetings or events. Projects planned for implementation in the first half of the year will also be prioritised.

Is there an idea you want us to consider or undertake? Do you want to engage with us in building an alternative Europe? Please complete the 2027 Coppieters Call For Ideas Submission Form and send it to us at info@CoppietersFoundation.eu.

All ideas and project applicants will be notified by March 2027 about the decision of the Coppieters Bureau.

GUIDELINES

Coppieters has 4 main pillars of action, (1) political and socio-economic studies, (2) historical studies and philosophy (3) capacity building and (4) direct interactions with EU and global institutions.

Your ideas should ideally fall into one of these 4 categories, but it can also include others: a series of interviews, media work, or archiving services. Other types of services or websites are atypical, but also eligible for consideration.

When submitting an idea, please note that it has to comply with the following criteria:

• Proposals should have a political impact (meaning with policy implications and/or analysis) rather than a cultural outlook
• Proposals should have European scope; and more specifically should comply with Point (6) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2445/2025
  • observing, analysing and contributing to the debate on European public policy issues and on the process of European integration;
  • developing activities linked to European public policy issues, such as organising and supporting seminars, training, conferences and studies on such issues between relevant stakeholders, including youth organisations and other representatives of civil society;
  • developing cooperation in order to promote democracy, including in third countries;
  • serving as a framework for national political foundations, academics, and other relevant actors to work together at European level.
• Proposals should have a good quality outcome;
• Proposals should be easy to communicate and have easy to communicate outcomes;
• Proposals should foresee some co-financing by a local counterpart, member or partner in the form of a financial contribution;
• Proposals should not go against EFA objectives, such as respect for democratic values, cultural diversity, collective rights and peace;
• Gender equality in the composition of panels in conferences and publications is a requirement;
• Priority will be given to those proposals already approved in previous years;
• Proposals submitted by the same researchers will not be granted again in two consecutive years;
• Proposals with detailed budgets should exclude provisions to fund human resources or coordination.

CO-FINANCING

Coppieters Foundation is a non-profit European political foundation. Our budget is partially funded by the European Parliament. Therefore, implementation of projects must follow strict rules to ensure correct implementation of (1) the European Union financial regulations and rules of application, (2) the grant agreement signed with the European Parliament, and (3) Coppieters’ own internal control rules and procedures.

Coppieters is a recognised political foundation at European level, hence financial contributions are regulated by articles 2.9 and 2.10 of the regulation 2445/2025 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations. All members and partners implementing project ideas with Coppieters must abide to 2445/2025 Regulation.

Coppieters Foundation will bear the costs related to the project and will pay the relative costs to third party providers of goods and services necessary for the implementation of the project [1]; upon receipt of invoices or upon the presentation of any other equivalent document. Where applicable, the reimbursement of travel expenses is calculated on actual costs resulting by the provided supporting evidence, which shall mandatorily include, in case, inbound and outbound boarding passes. Administration and personnel costs must be excluded from the project budget.

Coppieters Foundation will not transfer any funds, directly or indirectly, to the partner.

Project partners sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which frames the terms of the cooperation and partnership.

Coppieters Foundation and its project partners may agree on co-financed projects in the form of contributions or donations as per the above-mentioned regulation.

Coppieters shall cover the expenditure linked to projects it organizes jointly with others (members or partners) and partners may agree depending on their possibilities to make a financial contribution in favour of the Coppieters Foundation. The amount is set in the partnership agreement or memorandum of understanding and may be a fixed amount or be calculated based on real expenses of an action.

The desirable support to the project from potential project partners is estimated following 4 criteria:

• The desirable support to the project from potential project partners is proposed at least at 15% for our members, 30% for our associated members and 50% for non-members,
  • Provided that an even higher co-financing share of the cooperation partner will apply whenever required by Article 27(2) of the Regulation in light of the concrete activity.
  • Please bear in mind that members and associated members pay annual fees to the Coppieters Foundation.
  • Please note that according to Article 25(4) of the Regulation the Coppieters Foundation shall not accept donations from any public authority from a Member State or a third country, or from any organisation over which a Member State’s public authority may exercise, directly or indirectly, a dominant influence by virtue of its ownership of it, its financial participation therein, or the rules which govern it.
• Criteria set in the ruling of the Court of Justice [2] on indirect funding.
  • The share of expenditure borne by Coppieters should show a realistic correlation with the overall involvement of Coppieters compared to the involvement of the partner at the specific event or publication. Note that according to the rules for funding “an excessive financing share” may might constitute “indirect funding” and this is prohibited by the regulation and the Grant received by Coppieters Foundation for the financing of its activities.
    • Indirect funding exists in cases where a partner, party or a candidate derives a financial advantage from the action.
  • When assessing the project ideas, we consider the overall context of the project and event, the scope, the content, the objectives, the target group(s), the motivation, and the potential value of the event for the partner to define the desirable support to the project and/or project contribution.

• In the case of a partner with limited financial capacity, there is the possibility for Coppieters Foundation to cover the project as an own project and cover all costs. This shall be a discretionary decision by the Bureau of Coppieters Foundation when reviewing the project ideas. For this to happen the project idea must fulfil the following criteria:
  • The project proposal must still be within the proposing organisation’s capacity to implement.
  • The project proposal must align with one of this year’s priority areas (European housing crisis, fiscal autonomy, year of trust and peace).
  • The idea has to be submitted by either full members or associated members of Coppieters Foundation.
• Criteria set in the ruling of the Court of Justice on indirect funding.
  • The share of expenditure borne by Coppieters should show a realistic correlation with the overall involvement of Coppieters compared to the involvement of the partner at the specific event or publication. Note that according to the rules for funding “an excessive financing share” may might constitute “indirect funding” and this is prohibited by the regulation and the Grant received by Coppieters Foundation for the financing of its activities. Indirect funding exists in cases where a partner, party or a candidate derives a financial advantage from the action.
  • When assessing the project ideas, we consider the overall context of the project and event, the scope, the content, the objectives, the target group(s), the motivation, and the potential value of the event for the partner to define the desirable support to the project and/or project contribution.

Article 27(2) of the Regulation provides that the funding of European political foundations from the general budget of the European Union or from any other source shall not be used for any other purpose than for financing their tasks as listed in point (4) of Article 2 and to meet expenditure directly linked to the objectives set out in their statutes in accordance with Article 5 of the Regulation. It shall in particular not be used for the direct or indirect funding of other foundations.

[1] Such as venue booking, speaker flights, catering, professional photographer, interpretation/translation, design of publicity materials, printing of leaflets/publications, proofreading, expert fees etc.

[2] See Art 27 (1) and (2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2445/2025 on Prohibition of indirect funding and MENL v Parliament, T-829/16; ADDE v Parliament, T-48/17 and ACRE v Parliament, T-107/19.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Can we submit documents and propose projects in a different language than English?

Yes. Please respect the deadline set above in order to translate the documents in time for the Bureau meeting.

2. Can we propose a cultural event, like an art exhibition or music festival?

Although we coordinate research on cultural diversity, our work program includes projects that carry out or engage with political analysis. We are looking for projects with an analytical focus – looking more to public policies and case studies.- and European scope. Art exhibitions and music festivals do not fall under our pillars of action (See Page 1).

3. Can we apply for more than one project?

Yes.

4. If we submitted a project proposal last year, can we apply for another project this year?

Yes.

5. What does a typical budget break-down look like for a conference, study or other types of projects?

Below you can see estimates of costs and approximate budget breakdowns for each activity based on our experience. Please use these as a guide when designing your project. Do get in touch with service suppliers in your geographical area as prices can vary.

(1) CONFERENCES have an approximate cost of 5,000 to 19,000 EUR

1,000 to 5,000 EUR – Travel costs and accommodation

2,000 to 4,000 EUR – Interpretation (English <> second language)

2,000 to 4,000 EUR – Interpretation facilities (booths, headphones, micro)

1,000 to 3,000 EUR – Media insertions + printing materials

500 to 3,000 EUR – Coffee breaks and meals

(2) STUDIES have an approximate cost of 10,000 to 15,000 EUR

1,000 to 4,000 EUR – Drafting of the text and research

1,500 to 2,500 EUR – Graphic design

3,000 to 7,000 EUR – Translation, copy-editing and proofreading

4,000 to 7,000 EUR – Printing and distribution

(3) PODCASTS have an approximate cost of 4,000 EUR

1,000 to 2,000 EUR – Travel costs and accommodation

1,000 to 2,000 EUR – Audio editing

(4) VIDEOS have an approximate cost of 10,000 EUR

1,000 to 3,000 EUR – Storyboard
3,000 to 8,000 EUR – Video editing

(5) WEBINARS have an approximate cost of 2,000 EUR

1,000 to 2,000 EUR – Video design and promotion materials

6. How does co-financing work in practice?

Partners sign a written agreement or memorandum of understanding which frames the terms of the cooperation and partnership. Coppieters shall cover the expenditure linked to projects it organizes jointly with others (members or partners) and partners may agree depending on their possibilities to make a financial contribution in favor of the Coppieters Foundation. The amount is set in the partnership agreement and may be a fixed amount or be calculated based on real expenses linked to an action.

Step 1

Coppieters Foundation will cover all project costs through payment transfers to third party providers of goods and services necessary for the implementation of the project. This includes venue fees, speaker flights, catering, professional photographer, interpretation/translation, design of publicity materials, printing of leaflets/publications, proofreading, expert fees etc. Ideally, Coppieters Foundation would cover the total amount of the budget directly to suppliers.

Coppieters Foundation will not transfer any funds, directly or indirectly, to the partner.

Coppieters cannot cover staff costs not coordination costs of any project partner.

Step 2

Once the project has finished, project partners compile a list of all project costs. There’s an evaluation procedure, a short activity report and a closure meeting.

Step 3

The proposing partner may make a contribution or donation according to the previously agreed-upon partnership agreement. This contribution is regulated by articles 2.9 and 2.10 of the regulation 2445/2025 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations.

Such contribution shall not be regarded as a compensation for services nor as a re-invoicing of costs.

INFORMATION SESSION – 3 December 2026 at 15:00.

Please note that, during the period between the launch of this Call for Ideas and the submission deadline, Coppieters Foundation will extend an invitation for a call, to interested members and partners to:

• provide a detailed explanation of the submission procedure
• address any outstanding questions or points of clarification

The online information session is currently scheduled for 3 December 2026 at 15:00.

The information session is initially planned in English. However, our facilitators can speak many European languages, so join us even if English is not your forte. We will do our best to provide the relevant information in other languages.

If you want to take part, please let us know in advance at info@CoppietersFoundation.eu

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The Coppieters Foundation is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content of the conferences, events or the opinions of the authors of our publications.

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Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash.

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