The project SkiLMeeT (Skills for labour markets in the digital and green transition) has three main objectives: 1) generate data and indicators which quantify the extent of labour and skills shortages and mismatch in Europe; 2) explore the drivers of these gaps and shortages, with a focus on the digital and green transitions; 3) analyse and identify pathways to reduce skill gaps and shortages. SkiLMeeT advances the knowledge how the work programme’s main goals can be achieved: to equip the workforce with the demanded skills, to encourage successfully the necessary reskilling and upskilling of the workforce and ultimately to realise the full potential of the digital and green transitions for Europe as a whole. To achieve these aims, SkiLMeeT builds on an inter- and transdisciplinary approach bringing together quantitative and qualitative methods. The combination of in-depth case studies and broad analyses of European economies using a rich variety of data sources ranging from survey and administrative data to big data provides highly valuable complementary insights into the nature of shortages, their drivers and pathways out. The indicators created are transparent and easily accessible. The analyses of drivers and pathways are conducted both for all European countries and for particularly relevant example countries. To validate the quantitative analyses, to explore mechanisms and to identify particularly promising pathways, we engage in extensive consultations and set up feedback loops with the research community, especially with relevant international and national research initiatives, and with stakeholders. The stakeholder consultations help to develop concrete policy proposals aimed at a thriving economy and an inclusive society. To maximise SkilMeeT’s impact, we disseminate the project’s indicators and insights, as well as concrete policy proposals to policymakers, stakeholders and the public.

Technological transformations, globalisation and demographic changes are the three key mega-trends posing socio-economic challenges and opportunities for the EU. UNTANGLED aims to fill knowledge gaps about these trends by pursuing three main goals: (1) to provide detailed analyses at the macro-, regional-, sectoral-, and micro-level concerning the effects of these trends on labour market outcomes and inequality, and their winners and losers; (2) to develop comprehensive, model-based scenarios of the impacts of these trends in the next decades, overall and for various subpopulations, sectors and regions; (3) to develop policy recommendations fostering shared prosperity. UNTANGLED contributes to the work programme’s goal of promoting inclusive and evidence-based policy and informed public debates. In measuring effects, we disentangle the joint impacts of the trends on the changing demand of skills, employability, wage and income inequality, and mobility and migration patterns. We pay attention to effects by gender, age, skill level, and firm type. We use an interdisciplinary approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods and adopts a cross-country perspective, covering the entire EU and accounting for developments in other continents. This helps to project the impact of shocks on global value chains. Our scenarios are firmly based on analytical results and created with two complementary models to provide robust results at the country-, sector- and regional-level. To develop assumptions and ensure relevance of scenarios, we engage in extensive consultations and set up feedback loops with stakeholders, which complement and validate the economic and institutional analyses. These stakeholder consultations help to develop concrete policy proposals aimed at shared prosperity. We deliver research papers and policy briefs. To maximise UNTANGLED’s impact, we disseminate the lessons learned and policy proposals to policy-makers, stakeholders and the public.

The EU has used the Strategic Energy Technology Plan to transfer power to consumers, by decentralising the energy eco-system by establishing “100 positive energy districts by 2025 and 80% of electricity consumption to be managed by consumers in 4 out of 5 households”. The SMART-BEEjS recognises that this requires the systemic synergy of the different stakeholders, balancing attention towards technological and policy oriented drivers, citizens and society needs, providers and technology capabilities and value generation system synergies in order to deliver the transition without leaving large parts of the population behind. Smart-BEEjS covers all angles of this eco-system, to train a generation of transformative and influential champions in policy design, techno-economic planning and business model innovation in the energy and efficiency sectors, mindful of the personal and social dimensions, as well as the nexus of interrelation between stakeholders in energy generation, efficiency and management. Five objectives have been set to develop: • a practical tool that popularises the evidence based knowledge of the relationships between socio-economic factors and citizens’ practices, enabling citizens to become active promoters of PEDs; • strategies that can positively influence citizens towards sustainable behaviour patterns, which will be used to advise at city/town council level; • a methodology for systemic planning of infrastructure investments that can be recommended at city/town level in order to transition towards PEDs, by designing a systemic modelling approach combining techno-economic aspects and pathways toward the creation and sustainability of PEDs; • an evidence-based policy and incentives pathway for tackling energy injustice and poverty, by an effective design of policy implementation at PED level; • a user-based value generation tool that initiates user-centric business models and value proposition designs exploring PEDs, without the need for subsidies

The aims of this proposal are: • To analyse social, economic and environmental changes and disruptions (including covid) and evaluate their impact on SCs, identifying related challenges in terms of relationship between countries, configuration of the network, impact on employment. • To study and propose a set of SC models for the evolution of global SC integrating strategies like resource efficient, closed-loop and humanitarian as a way to increase EU resilience and sustainability. Particular attention will be given to the role of digitalization as a way to establish new paths for social inclusion taking into consideration the needs of urban and rural areas. Some important European sectors like fashion, automotive, medical and machine tools will be analysed with case studies and survey. • To develop Innovative tools for monitoring and assessing sectoral trade patterns and defining mechanisms to evaluate relationship of disruptions like pandemic and global value chains taking into consideration impact on employment, economic growth, incomes etc also in the long term. Moreover, it will be analysed the impact of different trade patterns, on the EU value added of sectoral and countries with a specific focus on analyzing income inequalities and proposition of decent work and social cohesion. Particular attention will be gives to gender issues and social disparities. • To develop innovative policy scenarios with recommendations for future global value chains: policy scenarios will be based on Key horizontal issues impacting on several sectors and will provide recommendations for EU, national and sectoral strategies, policy measures and targeted actions aimed at shaping fair, inclusive and sustainable trade patterns, value and supply chains as well as production networks.

The HEPARD (Health Economic Policy Advice with Real World Data) Doctoral Network addresses persistent health inequalities across Europe through a multidisciplinary approach uniting health economics, public health, and advanced data analytics. Despite positive trends in general health and life expectancy, disparities—particularly among socioeconomic groups and regions—continue to challenge policy efforts. HEPARD aims to train researchers in causal inference methods, using observational data to evaluate the real-world impacts of health policies and interventions. HEPARD focuses on key drivers of health disparities. Through interdisciplinary research clusters, it investigates the effects of lifestyle interventions, family-centered policies, and health insurance systems on health equity. Traditional studies often overlook socioeconomic and contextual factors shaping policy outcomes. HEPARD instead uses quasi-experimental and machine learning methods to analyze real-world data, yielding insights more relevant to Europe’s diverse conditions. The network’s research program includes four main work packages (WPs): - Real Data Innovation Analytics: Applies machine learning and causal inference to assess lifestyle health interventions in reducing chronic disease. - Family Futures: Studies health policies’ impacts on parents and children, focusing on policies like postpartum support and childcare across diverse European context. - Incentives and Impacts: Examines how various health insurance systems affect equity and access across Europe. - Methodological Cross-Breeding for Enhanced Causal Inference: Develops new causal inference tools by integrating economic and epidemiological approaches. Together, these WPs create a unified framework for understanding and addressing health inequities, combining methodological innovation with policy relevance to equip early-stage researchers with the tools to design impactful, evidence-based solutions that enhance well-being across Europe.