Initiated by AIA Fellow Stuart MacDonald, a webinar on ‘Soft Power in Transactional Times’ took place on 3 February. This brought together potential consortium partners to identify the most suitable proposal for an application for a Horizon Europe research project on the topic of soft power under the conditions of transactional foreign policy. Based on a research framework developed by Hendrik Ohnesorge and Stuart MacDonald, this was discussed and refined by academics and practitioners. The group agreed to stay together and continue working on the proposal.