Scope:
Proposals should develop population-oriented primary prevention[3] interventions to promote mental well-being of young people and assess them for their effectiveness. The interventions should build on but may go beyond existing state-of-the art knowledge on biological, psychological and social determinants of mental well-being such as societal, cultural, work life, lifestyle, epidemiological, economic and environmental perspectives. The proposals should aim at increasing resilience and mitigating the impact of biological, psychosocial and environmental risk factors. The target group should include young up to 25 years (or a subgroup there of), which is an age limit often used as many severe disorders start in this period.The research design should be developed by means of a multidisciplinary approach and involve the young themselves and other relevant stakeholders. Innovative approaches in involving the young and gathering their inputs for the design of the intervention should be considered. The interventions should use a holistic approach, taking gender and health inequality aspects into account, in increasing resilience and empowering the young. The interventions to be developed should reflect the diversity of the different countries and regions in Europe and beyond. The research should pay particular attention to ethical issues. The interventions should be assessed for mental well-being outcomes as well as the economic and social benefits and impact on reducing inequalities. These analyses of impact and effectiveness should be presented in quantitative as well as qualitative terms, in a gender disaggregated way where relevant. The results should be disseminated throughout Europe and beyond in order that the evidence generated is fully exploited.The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 2 and 4 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.Expected Impact:Short or medium term impact, likely during the lifetime of the project:

• Improved mental well-being in the targeted group of young people.
• The innovative interventions will create a strong evidence base for mental well-being promotion programmes in Europe, contributing to greater health equity and improved societal benefits.

Longer term impact, likely beyond the lifetime of the project:

• Improved mental well-being in youth should contribute to reducing school and college/university dropout in the short term, strengthening personal confidence and cognitive function, improving educational efforts and enhancing employability.
• Preventative strategies are established which have a real effect of reducing the occurrence of mental disorders and co-morbidities associated with mental disorders later in life.