EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for the “COMHOM” Sub-Granting Call

Overview

The COMHOM cascade-funding scheme (GA 101172624) empowers social-innovation actors (cities, NGOs, social enterprises, tech-providers and research organisations) to pilot, validate and upscale data-driven tools that combat homelessness across Europe between 1 Dec 2025 and 31 Dec 2027. Below is a structured analysis of the unique, EU-level advantages and opportunities the call unlocks.

1. Single Market Access (450 + million citizens)

• Unlocks a homogeneous customer/user base for digital social-care solutions (e.g. homeless-service apps, interoperable shelters’ booking systems).

• Facilitates rapid roll-out of proven models to 27 Member States without customs or tariff barriers, shortening time-to-impact.

• Public buyers can rely on the EU public-procurement directives, enabling suppliers funded by COMHOM to enter multi-country framework contracts.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Consortia can include partners from any EU/EEA country, bringing diverse social-policy traditions into joint living-labs.

• Enables pan-EU data pools on homelessness, critical for AI-based early-warning or predictive analytics.

• Promotes transfer of successful “Housing First”, “Rapid Re-housing” or digital ID pilots from frontrunner cities (e.g. Helsinki, Lisbon) to lagging regions.

• Strengthens peer-learning through EU networks such as FEANTSA, URBACT, EUREGHA and the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Housing.

3. Alignment with Key EU Policies & Strategies

• European Pillar of Social Rights (Principle 19 – Housing & Assistance for the Homeless).

• EU Platform on Combatting Homelessness 2021–2030.

• European Green Deal & Renovation Wave: energy-efficient repurposing of vacant buildings for housing solutions.

• Digital Europe Programme & EU Digital Decade Targets (interoperable public-service data and digital ID).

• Social Economy Action Plan: encourages social enterprises to scale inclusive business models.

• Cohesion Policy 2021-2027: complements ESF+ and ERDF investments in social infrastructure.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• GDPR harmonisation facilitates cross-border sharing of sensitive social-care data under common legal bases.

• EU-wide open data and INSPIRE directive standards ease integration of geospatial homelessness datasets.

• Common social-procurement clauses derived from Directive 2014/24/EU help replicate inclusive procurement across municipalities.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Linkages to 3 000+ Digital Innovation Hubs, EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Digital and Horizon Europe clusters.

• Potential to test solutions in European Living Labs and Smart City marketplaces, accelerating TRL/MRL advancement.

• Collaboration with leading research institutes (e.g. KU Leuven, TNO, Fraunhofer) on impact evaluation methodologies.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage

• COMHOM grants (max. €1.5 million cascade pot) can act as seed capital to unlock:

- ESF+ mainstream operational-programme funding for full roll-out.

- InvestEU Social Investment & Skills window for scale-up loans/equity.

- ERDF for infrastructure refurbishment of shelters or social housing.

- Horizon Europe Cluster 2 & 5 calls for further R&I on social inclusion and climate-neutral buildings.

• Combines grant-based risk mitigation with later-stage financial instruments, lowering overall cost of capital.

7. Potential for EU-Wide Scale & Impact

• Harmonised digital architectures allow interoperable service delivery platforms usable from Lisbon to Tallinn.

• Standardised monitoring & evaluation (M&E) KPIs enable benchmarking and evidence-based policy across Member States.

• Success stories feed directly into European Semester country reports, influencing structural-reform recommendations.

• Visibility at EU level increases stakeholder buy-in, attracting philanthropic co-funding and corporate social-impact investors.

8. Strategic Added Value Compared to National-Only Initiatives

• Critical mass of data and user feedback accelerates AI/ML model accuracy for predictive homelessness prevention.

• Pan-European branding (“EU-labelled” solutions) builds credibility with public authorities and civil-society users.

• Reduction of fragmentation: one EU-wide approach avoids 27 duplicative national pilots, saving public funds and time.

• Supports upward social convergence by diffusing best practices from high-performing regions to less-developed ones.

---

Key Take-Away: By leveraging the freedoms of the Single Market, harmonised regulations, rich EU policy support and an unrivalled innovation ecosystem, COMHOM sub-grants offer social-innovation actors a unique springboard to develop, validate and scale cutting-edge solutions for ending homelessness—achieving impact that no single Member State could reach alone.