Cluster
Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
Co-funded European partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage (DRAFT)
Scope and expected outcomes:
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. 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, CHANSE, the JPI Climate may be considered.
Proposals should in addition take into account the findings of the first-ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) report, 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. The partnership should also develop its activities considering the 8th Environment Action Programme Mid-Term Review as published in March 2024. 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, 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 line with the European Climate Law 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 2nd 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. To that end, proposals under this topic should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
1. 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 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) and the targets of the Paris Agreement;
2. 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);
3. 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.
Expected EU contribution: The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 60.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget: The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.