Workpackage

Our Approach

Loneliness and social isolation (SIL) are serious problems across the EU, affecting people’s health, well-being, and even society as a whole — from trust in institutions to political participation and productivity. Around 13% of EU citizens feel lonely most of the time, with some countries reaching up to 20%.

Although many countries and organizations are trying to tackle SIL, most of these efforts are happening in isolation, without much international collaboration. This creates big gaps in knowledge, data, and policies across EU member states.

The LONELY-EU project steps in to fix that by:

Bringing together scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and experience experts from across the EU.
Creating a strong, EU-wide network (SIL Network Europe) to share knowledge and promote cooperation.
Helping decision-makers use solid data and evidence to create policies that reduce SIL at all levels — local to EU-wide.

The project uses a three-pillar approach:

Research & Data (Pillar 1): Build a dynamic, accessible evidence base on SIL.
Policy & Monitoring (Pillar 2): Develop tools and recommendations aligned with EU social goals.
Networking & Communication (Pillar 3): Ensure lasting impact by connecting stakeholders and spreading knowledge.

The project is led by experts from six EU countries and supported by major global organizations like the WHO, OECD, and the European Commission. Overall, LONELY-EU aims to create a more resilient, connected, and inclusive Europe.

Pillar 1: Building a Dynamic and Sustainable Evidence Base

Pillar 1 focuses on creating a comprehensive, open, and accessible database that helps policymakers, researchers, and the public understand and tackle social isolation and loneliness (SIL) across the EU. The pillar is divided into three main objectives:

Objective 1A: Building the SIL Evidence Map

Collect and integrate raw data and research findings on SIL from across Europe.
Use advanced statistical tools and interactive visualizations (with support from OECD) to make the data easy to understand and use.
Create an open-access platform where users can explore data by region, age group, etc.
Continuously update the database using community input and dynamic meta-analyses.

Objective 1B: Understanding the Causes of SIL

Analyze societal and economic factors contributing to SIL, beyond individual-level causes.
Study how these factors interact across regions, social groups, and demographics.
Use causal models to identify at-risk groups and better understand patterns (e.g., how norms or geography influence SIL risk).

Objective 1C: Estimating the Impact of SIL

Explore how SIL affects health, trust, political participation, economic productivity, and more.
Study these impacts across EU countries and specific groups (e.g., minorities, older adults).
Calculate the total societal and economic cost of SIL using predictive models.
Develop a decision support system using AI (Deep Reinforcement Learning) to test policy interventions in simulated EU settings.

End Goal: Provide a solid, evidence-based foundation for policy recommendations in Pillar 2 and ensure stakeholders across the EU have the tools they need to understand and act on SIL effectively.

In our project we will work on four different pillars:

Building a comprehensive evidence base
Creating tools for monitoring and measurement
Developing evidence-based policy recommendations
Building a connected Europe against loneliness

The workpackages below contribute to these four pillars.

WP number	WP name
WP1	Project launch and project management
WP2	Project management
WP3	Identify, organize and integrate publicly accessible datasets
WP4	Pooling available evidence in a dynamic meta analysis
WP5	Identifying social and economic SIL causes and risk groups
WP6	Quantifying the socio-economic impact of SIL
WP7	Development of a decision support system
WP8	Survey and content evaluation of measurement instruments of SIL
WP9	Calibration of the proposed EU SIL Index
WP10	Foundations for SIL innovations and policy framework: Initiation of Evidence-to-Action Board
WP11	Development of EU SIL policy frame-work: Strategic development of Evidence-to-Action Board
WP12	Connected against SIL: Initiating the SIL Network Europe
WP13	Connected against SIL: Expanding the SIL Network Europe
WP14	Building communication and putting SIL on the agenda in Europe
WP15	Dissemination and exploitation of evidence-based policies and tools