A European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage – Innovative tools for digitising cultural heritage objects
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-02
- Programme
- A European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage - 2023
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- January 9, 2023
- Deadline
- September 20, 2023
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €25,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €20,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €25,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 1
- Keywords
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-02HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01Arts, Art historyComputer sciences, information science and bioinformatics
Description
Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Cultural heritage professionals in Europe, including curators, conservators and researchers of cultural heritage, use a common set of new innovative tools and methods for the digitisation and visualisation of cultural heritage objects (3D and enhanced 2D) with regard to their visible and non-visible properties and characteristics, which are accessible through and connected to the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH).
- The European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) provides cultural heritage institutions and professionals with enhanced technological and methodological capabilities to study cultural heritage objects, to share related data of their visible and non-visible properties and characteristics, and to develop new forms of collaboration.
This topic aims at designing and implementing innovative tools and methods for digitisation of (a) visible characteristics and (b) non-visible characteristics of cultural heritage objects, to be incorporated into the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH).
As regards digitisation of visible characteristics of cultural heritage objects, technologies are now satisfying the needs for a considerable part of uses and objects. For instance, in the field of digital documentation of cultural heritage, three-dimensional acquisition and reconstruction methods have been developed in the past twenty years, using photogrammetry and laser scanning techniques to capture the characteristics of physical cultural heritage objects. Such methods already provide robust solutions for the digital reconstruction of the geometry and visual appearance of object surfaces. In addition to these methods, in the field of cultural heritage conservation various non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques have become important technical and scientific means of examination. Such techniques allow understanding the phenomena of deterioration and defining the restoration, conservation and documentation needs of cultural heritage objects.
Nevertheless, there are still major needs in cultural heritage that require further research and innovation on more advanced digitisation tools and methods:
- New AI-powered tools and methods that improve the digitisation process of tangible cultural heritage objects. The robustness and efficiency of the 3D digitisation process should be improved, especially in the case of massive digitisation (for example collections of objects). The accuracy and completeness of surface appearance acquisition should also be improved, as well as the mapping of complex reflectance data on digital surfaces. Furthermore, such solutions should yield new improved methods for post-processing and cleaning of the 3D models produced.
- Improved methods for acquiring and processing enhanced 2D representations (e.g. reflectance transformation imaging, multispectral, panoramic), and for better integrating 2D representations with 3D representations.
- Future 3D models need to encode other key attributes in addition to the usual geometric and reflectance data, such as local uncertainty information. New tools and methods are therefore needed to calculate and encode local accuracy limits with high precision in reconstructed 3D models. These tools should be capable of producing measurement-based limits of the similarity between the digital model and the physical object at any surface point, as well as algorithmically estimated accuracy boundaries.
- To model a complex assembly is a costly effort, and today often requires dismounting the assembly - which is often not possible. Specific digitisation solutions should be developed that are capable of mixing various digitisation approaches (e.g. scanning and computer tomography scans) in order to capture dynamic or hidden characteristics of complex assemblies without dismounting them.[1]
As regards the study of non-visible characteristics of complex objects, nowadays different techniques are used, e.g. multispectral imaging, X-rays, infrared reflectance, terahertz imaging, etc. Proposals should focus on innovations at the data acquisition level, with a view to improve the quality and usability of the data generated. An important aspect is the robustness, reliability as well as the ease of use of any tool and method for analysing the visible characteristics and non-visible materials properties of cultural heritage objects under real world conditions. In addition, several recent experimental approaches have shown that multimodal analysis techniques should include a temporal dimension, observing the evolution of features and phenomena over time.
These challenges highlight the need for flexible, transferable, and simple solutions for documenting multimodal analyses. These solutions should include the integration of data acquisitions from different technologies into complex data structures that provide new analysis opportunities for conservation scientists, conservators and curators. This requires the introduction of new visualisation tools that act as virtual environments for scientific exploration, allowing scientists and curators to explore the full material complexity of cultural heritage objects beyond what is visible.
Large datasets are often generated (e.g., many dozens of images in the case of hyperspectral imaging). To address this, new AI solutions should be developed to generate categorised or pre-analysed data, enabling the selection and/or identification of specific elements, images or regions of interest that exhibit important differences for subsequent analysis and validation by the human expert.
The tools and methods introduced should focus on geometric and projective consistency of heterogeneous data from different technologies, with respect to different scales of observation and analysis, over a wide spectral range, to produce an integrated digital representation. Spatially localised characterisation of individual material layers is one of the goals, including coupling multi- or hyperspectral analyses with physicochemical characterisation of materials. New methods for access, exploration, and temporal monitoring of acquired data should be developed, including their interactive visualisation and classification.
The proposed software tools and methods to be developed should go beyond the lab prototype status, should be practical and possible to deploy easily in un-controlled environments (e.g. digitise in a museum room), and should ensure low cost and flexibility of use. The component for data integration into the ECCCH may extend the features of the basic tool developed by the project funded under topic HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01, with the goal of streamlining the upload of metadata/paradata and of raw sampled data.
The proposals should demonstrate the potential of the developed tools and methods through representative case studies, conducted in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. These case studies should cover a significant share of the range of cultural heritage objects, materials and conservation/restoration issues. The results of these case studies should produce emblematic data that can serve as models for promoting the re-use of the tool(s) and methods in other contexts and by other users within the ECCCH.
The proposed tool(s) to be developed should be implemented adopting the low-level libraries established by the project funded under topic HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01. The tool(s) developed should be compliant with the design of the ECCCH, and should be integrated with the ECCCH before the end of the project, together with proper documentation. All software and other related deliverables should be compliant with the data model and the software development guidelines elaborated by the project funded under topic ‘HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01’. If appropriate these tools should be developed with a view to a wider deployment, including in the Data Space.
The proposals should furthermore make provisions to actively participate in the common activities of ECCCH initiative. In particular, the proposals should coordinate technical work with other selected projects and contribute to the activities of the project funded under the topic HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01.
The proposals should set up its project website under the common ECCCH website, managed by the project funded under topic HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01. The proposal is further expected to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint coordination meetings and may consider covering the costs of any other joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint activities at this stage.
Please also refer to the Destination introduction text to consider some key characteristics of the vision for the ECCCH.
[1] Concerning digitisation tools and methods mentioned, see European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Brunet, P., De Luca, L., Hyvönen, E., et al., Report on a European collaborative cloud for cultural heritage : ex – ante impact assessment, 2022, pp. 38-42 and 61-62, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/64014
Destination & Scope
Europe’s rich cultural heritage and strong creative tradition not only reflect our past, but also shape our future. It is by building on this foundation and developing our strengths that we can face the great challenges of our time with confidence, and shape a future based on European values and the respect of human rights. Europe's cultural heritage is well alive because it is the result of the interaction between people and their environment, and above all of the collective effort of EU citizens, who all have the same entitlement to enjoy their human and in particular cultural rights.[1]
Convinced that cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries are an important part of the "social" dimension of democracy and sustainability, the Horizon Europe calls under this destination invite suggestions for policies and practices to address, at all levels of action, current challenges and provide innovative responses. Europe’s wealth of monuments and sites and its creative diversity of traditions, crafts, arts, architecture, literature, languages, theatre, films, games and music is a unique asset. It enriches our lives, fosters social and cultural cohesion and contributes to a sense of belonging. It also underpins an economy generating more employment than the automotive industry and a similar trade balance as food, drinks and tobacco combined. Many of Europe’s multinationals build their international success on the European heritage and creativity. At the same time, the sector is nurturing large numbers of dynamic small and micro enterprises, creating employment not the least for young people and women, while deploying their creativity not only to generate income but also to contribute to social and cultural sustainability, well-being and projecting European values at home and abroad.
This destination adopts a people-centred perspective and places cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries at the very heart of the European economy and its sustainable development. European R&I activities under this destination will support and strengthen European cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries essentially under three areas:
Green: Europe’s cultural heritage and its cultural and creative industries need to share their responsibilities for adapting to the consequences of climate change, and mobilise their resources to support European citizens and societies for an inclusive, socially and culturally sustainable climate transition. A participatory approach to European cultural heritage and digital transformations in the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage will guide new endeavours.
R&I actions will focus on, for example, supporting the cultural and creative industries to turn the challenges of the climate transition into opportunities, and become drivers of an inclusive societal transition. R&I actions will foment the development of new environmentally friendly technologies and methods to manage, restore and preserve cultural heritage, with a view to making Europe a world leader in sustainable management of cultural heritage. R&I will also strengthen our capacity to manage anthropogenic threats. Support to the New European Bauhaus initiative is part of this area, integrating the core New European Bauhaus values of sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics.
Digital: The digital transition promises enormous opportunities for Europe’s cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries, but also serious challenges. It is important to ensure that, through the digitisation, EU citizens benefit from cultural heritage and be enabled to contribute to its enrichment. Digitisation should also provide new training opportunities on creative industries for young citizens in less populated areas.
R&I actions will focus on, for example, innovative approaches to empower the cultural and creative industries, including its many micro enterprises, to reap the benefits of using digital technologies, creating more appealing and valuable products, services and experiences for its users. R&I actions will deepen our knowledge on what, how and why digitised and digital cultural heritage may be exploited, reaping the benefits while avoiding the many pitfalls, and creating societal value. Collaborative platforms for cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries will be supported. A dedicated call, namely HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01, will support the establishment of a digital European cultural heritage collaborative space, including a cloud platform for European cultural heritage institutions. Such platforms will strengthen the collaboration and co-creation among cultural heritage institutions and with other stakeholders in the cultural heritage domain, widen access for citizens and strengthen research. Please consider below some key characteristics and specific conditions of the call. Also, cooperation between different actors within the cultural and creative industries and between the CCIs and other economic sectors and industries will be strengthened, creating new market opportunities for CCI stakeholders.
Innovative: To an ever greater degree, creative and cultural aspects drive socio-ecological innovation, participatory democratic processes and economic growth. Successful new digital and physical products and services need to be appealing and attractive, adapted to cultural particularities. Similarly, societal transformations such as the green and digital transitions depend on behavioural changes, which are largely based on changes in lifestyle, culture and perceptions. In such processes, the human is at the centre, and cultural heritage, the arts and the cultural and creative industries are key.
R&I actions will cover a variety of subjects, such as strengthening the innovation capacity of the cultural and creative industries, and their capability to act as innovation engines. Actions will focus both on cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries holistically, as an innovation ecosystem, and on specific CCI sectors such as music, filmmaking and video games. Actions will also foment innovation in cultural tourism, as well as explore innovative connections between cultural expressions and democracy and politics. Actions will also support the development of new innovative technologies and methods to restore, preserve and manage cultural heritage, as well as reinforce the role of Europe’s cultural heritage in promoting European values among EU citizens and abroad.
The innovation ecosystems created and nurtured by the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), in particular the KIC “EIT Culture and Creativity”, may contribute to innovation actions under this destination, and should as appropriate be considered.
In line with the Commission priorities, R&I actions under this Destination will help promote the European way of life, contribute to achieving the Green Deal goals and support an economy that works for people. They will contribute to the New European Bauhaus[2] initiative, to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to building a stronger, more participatory and crisis-resilient society and economy. They will support the realisation of the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative industries as drivers of sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging.
The topics under the calls HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01 and HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01 aim at supporting the establishment of a digital European cultural heritage collaborative space, including a cloud platform, and contribute to the vision and objectives of the Commission[3]. For the purpose of these calls, the collaborative space will be referred to as the “European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage” (ECCCH).
An ex-ante impact assessment for the ECCCH was carried out between December 2021 and March 2022 by eight renowned independent experts contracted by the Commission[4]. This ex-ante impact assessment examined and described the needs of a digital European cultural heritage collaborative space from the perspective of the foreseen users (cultural heritage institutions, researchers, cultural and creative industries, etc.) and of European societies, thoroughly reviewed existing initiatives that might satisfy parts of these needs, and outlined the most important aspects to consider in implementing such a collaborative space.
The conclusion of the ex-ante impact assessment is that the ECCCH is highly important to Europe’s cultural heritage institutions and to European societies. In order to address the urgent evolving needs of Europe’s cultural heritage sector in the digital age for specifically adapted collaborative spaces, the European Union will ramp up its investments through the ECCCH, and also the common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage (the Data Space)[5] funded under the Digital Europe programme. The topics under the ECCCH calls are based on the conclusions and recommendations of the experts’ ex-ante impact assessment.
Some key characteristics of the vision for the ECCCH include:
- The ECCCH will be addressed to professionals[6]. It will enable an unprecedented level of lasting collaboration and co-creation between public and private players that will generate new realms of research, knowledge and creation of societal value.
- The basic ECCCH platform will provide easy to use tools for the most important needs.
- Active user communities that contribute to training and support, as well as common data models, guidelines and libraries for developing tools (including support for Graphical User interfaces (GUI) and visualisation), will ensure that also less well-equipped institutions will draw the full benefit of the ECCCH.
- To enhance collaboration and co-creation, IPR rights of the digital objects stored in the ECCCH and produced by ECCCH-based collaboration will be fully recorded and traceable. Guidelines for the use of IPR rights, such as rights statements provided by RightsStatements.org should be used where appropriate. This will enable new business models in the intersection between cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries.
- The long-term sustainability of data and data formats is one of the underlying principles of the ECCCH. The ECCCH will tackle these challenges through its architecture and basic functionalities. The design and architecture of the ECCCH is based on three principles:
- digital twins of heritage objects,
- digital continuum, tracing all interactions with heritage objects and related data objects,
- digital ecosystem, open to all stakeholders, professions and activities to interact with each other and with the digital heritage objects, ultimately leading towards a new generation of multidimensional, interconnected and knowledge-enhanced heritage data forming digital commons, where the ECCCH will play a key role.
- The architecture of the ECCCH will ensure an evolutionary design, which will allow the adaption and incorporation of new technologies and tools and to fulfil new user requirements, while discontinuing less used tools.
- An open Application Programming Interface will allow new functionality to be developed and incorporated in the ECCCH by different initiatives, and encourage interoperability.
- The ECCCH will be open and inclusive, both in terms of the users of the platform and the connections to other related initiatives/platforms such as the Data Space.
- The ECCCH should build on the wealth of existing knowledge, technologies and work processes in Europe. It should draw on previous experience and best practice. The ECCCH and the Data Space should complement each other towards the common vision.
- The ECCCH should ensure, through its Governance body, the engagement of a wide range of appropriate representatives from Member States and Associated Countries, as well as from related EU initiatives.
The ECCCH will thus be a genuine collaboration platform, which brings together a wide array of professions, researchers and technologies for museums and other cultural heritage institutions. It will include and develop interactive tools for research, curation, restoration, preservation and for reaching out to citizens and cultural and creative industries, properly protect and manage IPR and allow commercial as well as non-commercial collaboration with a wide range of players.
All topics under the ECCCH calls are subject to the following conditions:
- All software developed should be open source, licensed under a CC0 public domain dedication or under an open source license as recommended by the Free Software Foundation[7] and the Open Source Initiative[8].
- If the use of fully open source software would require disproportional efforts or significantly diminish the quality or performance of the software, and if suitable non open source function libraries exists, such libraries may be used provided that a full user license free of charge for an unlimited period of time is granted to the consortium responsible for the ECCCH as well as to all users of the ECCCH.
- All software and other related deliverables should be compliant with the data model and the software development guidelines elaborated by the project funded under topic ‘HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01’.
- All projects funded should participate in concertation activities with the project funded under topic ‘HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01’
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
- The full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative sectors as a driver of sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging is realised through a continuous engagement with society, citizens and economic sectors as well as through better protection, restoration and promotion of cultural heritage.
Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions in any capacity. Please refer to the Annex B of the General Annexes of this Work Programme for further details.
[2] The New European Bauhaus initiative was launched by European Commission President von der Leyen in her State of the European Union speech autumn 2020. More information here: https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en
[3] Recommendation (EU) 2021/1970 of 10 Nov 2021 on a common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage.
[4] European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Brunet, P., De Luca, L., Hyvönen, E., et al., Report on a European collaborative cloud for cultural heritage : ex – ante impact assessment, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/64014
[5] See further https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/staff-working-document-data-spaces
[6] In the context of the ECCCH calls, ‘professionals’ should be understood as the wide and interdisciplinary group of people working with cultural heritage in a professional or semi-professional way, researchers as well as people working with related activities such as within the cultural and creative industries.
[7]
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
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Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
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Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
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Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
Beneficiaries will be subject to these additional requirements on outputs:
All software developed should be open source, licensed under a CC0 public domain dedication or under an open source licence as recommended by the Free Software Foundation[[ https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list#SoftwareLicenses]] and the Open Source Initiative[[ https://opensource.org/licenses]]. If the use of open source software components would require disproportional efforts or significantly diminish the quality or performance of the software, proprietary components may be used provided that: an open functional replacement is available; they do not introduce proprietary data formats or Application Programming Interfaces; a full user license free of charge for an unlimited period of time is granted to the consortium responsible for the ECCCH and all its users.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Additional documents:
RAO decision authorising the use of lump sum funding
Set of slides on the specificities of lump sum funding
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Lump sum funding in Horizon Europe (detailed information related to lump sum funding)
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
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European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search Services help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Latest Updates
Flash EVALUATION results
HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01
Opening date: 10.01.2023.
Deadline: 21.09.2023.
Available total budget: EUR 35.000.000
The results of the evaluation are as follows:
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01
Number of proposals submitted: 9
Number of inadmissible proposals: 6
Number of ineligible proposals: -
Number of above-threshold proposals: 2
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: EUR 48.900.164,44
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-02
Number of proposals submitted: 35
Number of inadmissible proposals: 9
Number of ineligible proposals: 1
Number of above-threshold proposals: 11
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: EUR 51.555.650,27
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals. For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.
The call HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01 has closed on 21.09.2023.
44 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01: 9 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-02: 35 proposals
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in December 2023.
Lump sum funding related information, including a list of dedicated FAQs, is available on the Lump sum funding page of the Portal.
We would like to draw your attention to an update of the “ Detailed Budget Table” Excel template. Please note that a new template was republished on 17 January 2023 for your kind consideration and use.
In this new version, an additional paragraph was added to the instructions tab, explaining how to save the detailed budget table and how to upload it in the submission system.
The following instructions were added:
“ After you completed this Excel workbook, you must also complete the table ‘Budget for the proposal’ in Part A of the proposal, entering the requested EU contribution for each participant. Fill the Part A budget table using the total for each participant from the sheet ‘Lump sum breakdown’ in this Excel workbook.
The format of this Excel workbook is .xlsm because it uses macros to generate sheets and make calculations automatically. Always save it as .xlsm.
However, this format cannot be uploaded to the submission system for security reasons.
Therefore, to submit the completed workbook, save a copy as an .xlsx or .xls document (and not as .xlsm) and upload it to the proposal submission tool at Step 5 of the submission process. Always keep a copy of the original .xlsm file.
To save the workbook as .xlsx document, use the action button in the sheet “Instructions”. Alternatively, click on “ File” and then “ Save as”; in the “Save as” dialog box, choose “ .xlsx” or “.xls” from the “ Save as type” dropdown list.”
You can still use the template initially available in the submission system, but please be aware of the instructions on how to upload and save the file.