Co-funded European partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage

In line with the European Climate Law^[1] and its vision for a climate-neutral and resilient Europe by 2050, this topic aims at supporting transnational activities which will enable or contribute to several expected impacts of the Horizon Europe programme and its 2^nd Strategic Plan 2025-2027, in particular expected impact 8, related to realising the full potential of cultural heritage, and impact 21, related to advancing science for a fair transition to a climate-neutral and resilient society.^[2] To that end, proposals under this topic should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Public funders of research and innovation actions, policy-makers and research communities are provided with a holistic and strategic research and innovation multi-annual programme of activities related to cultural heritage^[3] and resilience (European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage, hereafter referred to as partnership), including challenges, expected impacts, outcomes, objectives, governance, and opportunities for cooperation contributing to the achievement of the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)^[4] and the targets of the Paris Agreement^[5];
• Investments in research and innovation at the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change sciences are increased and better co-ordinated between the two fields of research through the sharing of findings, data, tools and methodologies across sectors for the benefit of the society as a whole. To this end, research-based policy recommendations will be proposed to policy- and decision-makers in different sectors of governance at national and regional levels, with a view to overcoming existing fragmentation in the European Research Area (ERA);
• Research funders, businesses, policymakers, cultural heritage professionals and research communities from various scientific disciplines covered by STEAM (natural and formal sciences, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and SSH (social sciences and humanities), as well as actors from different economic sectors will work towards common objectives and measures. The long-term Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the partnership will aim to demonstrate the role and potential of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in advancing Europe’s climate neutrality and green transition by providing innovative and traditional knowledge-based solutions;
• A significantly strengthened scientific knowledge base at the intersection of heritage- and climate sciences contributes to more effective climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. Policy-makers and various stakeholders, including local communities, should be enabled to learn and draw lessons from the past, design and tailor risk management to specific threats and the resulting challenges for the traditions and living areas of different populations, cultural landscapes and sites, monuments, intangible cultural heritage and other assets, such as museums, libraries and archives collections under their responsibility;
• European cultural heritage professionals and stakeholders will engage with a wide range of partners from the EU, Associated Countries and worldwide, in the research and innovation actions under the partnership to address the global challenges of climate change, deploy good practices and enhance cultural heritage transnational research, its societal impact and Europe’s leading position in the field of cultural heritage and climate neutrality.

The challenge of cultural heritage lies in preserving and safeguarding a society's rich history, traditions, artefacts, and knowledge. This involves addressing issues such as deterioration, damage, theft, conflict, changing societal values and new challenges such as the climate change. In addition, it is essential to strike a balance between accessibility for future generations and respect for cultural sensitivities.

Proposals for the co-funded partnership on resilient cultural heritage must aim to enhance efforts to better understand and mitigate the effects of the triple planetary crisis (climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss), with focus on the impact of climate change on tangible and intangible cultural heritage, in line with the EU’s cultural and environmental policies, embodied in the Creative Europe programme and the European Green Deal.^[6]

The partnership will focus on resilience as the individual and collective capacity to anticipate, respond and adapt to situations where the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage becomes more challenging due to increased risks of loss and damage. At the same time, the potential of cultural heritage to support resilience needs to be harnessed, as cultural heritage has a strong societal, environmental, economic ,psychological and well-being dimension and contributes to the construction and preservation of individual and collective identity and acceptance of incoming changes.

Through its ability to bring together different stakeholders (e.g. research funders, cultural heritage authorities and professionals, citizens, innovators, policy-makers), the partnership will create a critical mass of resources to implement a long-term Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), building on the work of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Cultural Heritage and the ARCHE Coordination and Support Action funded under Horizon Europe 2021 call for proposals in Cluster 2. Proposals should build on existing knowledge, activities and networks, notably the ones funded by the European Union, to the extent appropriate. The input of other ERA entities such as HERA^[7], CHANSE^[8], the JPI Climate^[9] may be considered.

Proposals should in addition take into account the findings of the first-ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) report^[10], which calls for decisive evidence-based actions to prevent lock-in in maladaptive pathways to address climate-related risks, such as in land-use planning and long-lived infrastructure. The partnership is expected to contribute to the Communication Managing climate risks - protecting people and prosperity, which requires improving the science base for future adaptation actions and aims to foster innovation and build resilience.^[11] The partnership should also develop its activities considering the 8^th Environment Action Programme Mid-Term Review as published in March 2024.^[12]

Given that climate change is leading to an increase in the frequency, intensity and complexity of natural disasters within the Union and worldwide, the partnership should in addition contribute to achieving the objectives of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism^[13], which includes a focus area on cultural heritage when protecting people, environment and property against natural and man-made disasters in a spirit of international solidarity, through practical cooperation and coordination.

The partnership should be implemented through a joint programme of activities ranging from coordinating transnational research efforts to other activities such as improving access to data and services, optimising the use of and services provided by research infrastructures, as well as networking, capacity building, training and dissemination activities.

In the preparation of topics for the partnership’s transnational calls for proposals and additional activities, due attention should be paid to the gender dimension and the intersectionality of grounds for potential discrimination such as disability, age, socio-economic status, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, etc., in order to be in line with EU anti-discrimination policy^[14] and to achieve meaningful and significant outcomes that enhance the societal impact of the relevant activities. The advice of gender experts should be taken into account in developing mitigation and adaptation measures at the nexus of cultural heritage and climate change, in examining the functions of cultural heritage and related societal values, and in supporting sustainable development.

Taking all aforementioned priorities and references into account, the partnership should aim to:

• Build capacity by fostering fundamental and applied interdisciplinary collaborative research (SSH and STEAM) between the cultural heritage and climate research communities.
• Provide resources and incentives to conduct holistic research and nurture collaborative actions to drive the transformation towards more sustainable development, just futures and a healthier way of life and overall well-being.
• Create and disseminate new knowledge, techniques, skills, strategies and materials for sustainable preservation, conservation, and management of climate-related risks in the cultural heritage field as well as other man-made related risks.
• Promote innovations in industries and to provide scaled-up solutions and applications for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• Develop a coherent methodology for obtaining reliable information, quantitative and qualitative data on cultural heritage and climate change, as well as on the costs and benefits of adaptation measures, with particular emphasis on processes and life cycles related to the circular economy.
• Improve long-term monitoring of cultural heritage through the use of innovative technologies and risk management models to document, inventory and predict the negative and positive impacts of climate change on and through cultural heritage.
• Integrate cultural heritage into mainstream climate change and environmental regulations, policies and adaptation strategies by operationalising heritage-based solutions and knowledge of the past.
• Provide policy recommendations to enhance social cohesion and the European sense of belonging through cultural heritage in communities and societies impacted by climate change.
• Encourage the continued conservation and preservation (through maintenance) by involving, educating and facilitating community participation, with a special focus on sustainability and a quality approach.
• Increase collaboration across countries and regions and to move away from a focus on individual geopolitical regions to overcome the fragmentation of the wide landscape of stakeholders, competences, resources, policies, programmes and initiatives.

The partnership is open to all EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe and will remain open to third countries wishing to join.^[15] Partners are expected to contribute financially and/or in kind, depending on the level of ambition of the proposed activities. The partnership should be open to new partners throughout its lifetime. Important note: the EU contribution will not be increased accordingly.

The partnership should include or engage with the following stakeholders: (i) ministries responsible for R&I policy, as well as national and regional R&I and technology funding agencies and foundations; (ii) ministries responsible for cultural heritage, education, environment, spatial planning and development, tourism, etc., as well as other relevant national and regional authorities, organisations and providers; (iii) research infrastructures such as the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS); (iv) industry; and (v) charities and other non-profit organisations, for example of end-users of cultural heritage assets, active in safeguarding cultural heritage and/or in adapting to or mitigating the effects of climate change.

The governance structure of the partnership should implicate the relevant stakeholders in advance to coordinate, guide and mentor the research and innovation activities and facilitate the use and uptake of the results. The partnership’s activities should give rise to ready-to-use solutions. The governance structure should involve key stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the research and innovation community and cultural heritage professionals from sectors relevant to the scope of the partnership. In order to enhance the societal impact of the activities, the approach should empower citizens to contribute to the co-design/co-creation/co-assessment of research and innovation agendas/contents/outcomes.

To ensure coherence and complementarity of activities and leverage knowledge and investment possibilities, the partnership is expected to establish relevant complementarities with other Horizon Europe actions under relevant Clusters of Pillar II, partnerships and missions, such as “Adaptation to climate change – Climate-ADAPT”, “Restoring our ocean and waters by 2030”, “Biodiversa+”, “Climate-neutral and smart cities”, “Built4People”, and the “New European Bauhaus” Facility.^[16]

Proposals should be complementary to ongoing Horizon Europe projects to ensure the complementarity of deliverables and outcomes, where appropriate. Proposals should include a budget for the attendance of regular joint coordination meetings and may consider covering the costs of any other joint activity, without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The partnership will be encouraged to develop cross-fertilisation links with projects funded since the beginning of Horizon Europe notably under Cluster 2, following the call topics within the Green priority of Destination 2, topics relating to the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) or projects such as those selected on the basis of topics HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01 – Green technologies and materials for cultural heritage^[17], HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08 - Effects of climate change and natural hazards on cultural heritage and remediation^[18], or HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-01: Advanced technologies for remote monitoring of heritage monuments and artefacts^[19].

Proposals should also explore how to co-operate with other relevant EU and international actions and describe specific activities envisaged. They could propose to facilitate interactions and knowledge transfer with various economic sectors such as: cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCIs), agricultural and forestry policy, blue economy sectors, sustainable tourism, circular economy, infrastructures and construction, as well as society changes and transitions; urbanisation, spatial planning, regional growth, sustainable tourism development.^[20]

Moreover, proposals should consider synergies with different EU programmes, including EU space programmes (Copernicus, Galileo) to foster the use of emerging or operational space technologies for policy development, and the Digital Europe programme.^[21] Cooperation with the JRC may be envisaged, in particular for actions related to monitoring monuments, cultural heritage sites and cultural landscapes. The partnership should align with EU-wide initiatives on open access and FAIR data (findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable).

The partnership should be linked to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s Knowledge and Innovation Community - EIT Culture & Creativity as there is a common aim to scale up and widen to as many Member States/Associated Countries as possible a culture and creativity-driven European innovation ecosystem.

Proposals may include synergies between Horizon Europe and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programmes, including Interreg programmes, since Horizon Europe seeks to promote synergies with other EU programmes and to combine Horizon Europe funding with other EU, national or regional funding instruments in the same operation, project or initiative in order to achieve greater impact and efficiency (cumulative/complementary funding).^[22]

To address the ambitious challenges in front of the partnership, cooperation with international organisations, the private sector and non-European institutions and experts may be considered. The participation of third countries is encouraged but their commitment to the partnership would not be taken into account for the calculation of EU funding. Applicants should describe in their proposal the methodology for their cooperation and the objectives they wish to achieve by joining the partnership.

Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational proposals resulting in grants to third parties. It is expected that the partnership organises joint calls on an annual basis and will therefore have sufficient time to carry out the co-funded projects.

The total indicative budget for the partnership is up to EUR 60 million and subject to the effective implementation of the financial commitments made by the members of the consortium.

The expected duration of the partnership is seven to ten years.

[1] Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021R1119

[2] European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe strategic plan 2025-2027, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/092911, p. 8.

[3] Definition of cultural heritage mentioned in the Council conclusions of 21 May 2014 on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe (2014/C 183/08) and recalled in the European Framework for Action on cultural heritage: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/5a9c3144-80f1-11e9-9f05-01aa75ed71a1

[4] SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being, SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals.

[5] Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, pp. 1-3); Paris Agreement (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, pp. 4-18

[6] Regulation (EU) 2021/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R0818; European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication, European green deal – Delivering on our targets, Publications Office of the European Union, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2775/373022 ; Legal documents on Delivering the European Green Deal - European Commission (europa.eu)

[7] https://heranet.info/

[8] https://chanse.org/

[9] https://jpi-climate.eu/

[10] European Climate Risk Assessment — European Environment Agency (europa.eu)

[11] COM(2024) 91 final; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2024:91:FIN

[12] COM(2024) 123 final;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0123

[13] Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 924) and Regulation (EU) 2021/836 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 amending Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 185, 26.5.202, p. 1);

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/836/oj

[14] A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, COM(2020) 152 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0152

[15] The Global Approach to Research and Innovation Europe’s strategy for international cooperation in a changing world, COM(2021) 252 final

[16] Working document on ‘Coherence and Synergies of Candidate European Partnerships under Horizon Europe’;

[17] https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01/en

[18] https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08/en

[19] https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-01/en

[20] See above and European Cultural Heritage Green Paper produced by Europa Nostra in close cooperation with ICOMOS and the Climate Heritage Network, with the input of other members of the European Heritage Alliance, and supported by the European Investment Bank Institute and the Creative Europe EU programme. https://www.europanostra.org/our-work/policy/european-cultural-heritage-green-paper/

[21] Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240 (OJ L 166, 11.5.2021, p. 1–34); https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R0694&qid=1623079930214

[22] Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe. - the 2022 Commission Notice on ‘Synergies between Horizon Europe and ERDF programmes’ (2022/C 421/03)(2022/C 421/03)(2022/C 421/03); - the 2014 Commission guidance document on ‘Enabling synergies between European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020 and other research, innovation and competitiveness-related Union programmes’; - the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No 23/2022 ‘Synergies between Horizon 2020 and European Structural and Investment Funds – Not yet used to full potential’