HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-05

Demonstrating solutions to protect and preserve cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change

Status
open for submission
Programme
Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
Action type
HORIZON Innovation Actions
Opens
4 Feb 2026
Deadline
23 Sep 2026
Fetched
15 Jul 2026, 07:18 UTC
Plain-language summary

Innovate and demonstrate solutions to protect cultural heritage from climate change impacts across multiple EU regions.

This call seeks projects that develop and test innovative ways to protect cultural heritage from climate change. Solutions should involve local authorities and communities, including nature-based approaches. Projects must demonstrate impact in at least three different EU or associated regions and plan for wider replication.

Likely relevant for

  • Cultural heritage managers
  • Climate adaptation researchers
  • Regional and local authorities
  • Environmental technology developers
  • Social sciences and humanities experts

Project signals

Focus on climate resilience of tangible and natural heritageUse of innovative environmental assessment and monitoringInclusion of nature-based solutionsMulti-regional demonstration and replication plansStakeholder and citizen engagement

What it funds

  • Development and demonstration of innovative solutions to protect movable, immovable, and natural cultural heritage from climate change impacts
  • Solutions including environmental assessment methodologies, monitoring technologies, green conservation and restoration techniques, risk management, and disaster prevention
  • Co-designed approaches involving heritage scientists, climate scientists, policymakers, civil society, tourism industry, and citizens
  • Demonstration activities in at least three different regional/local authorities in different Member States or Associated Countries
  • Replication frameworks for at least three additional regional/local authorities
  • Synergies with existing projects and EU/national funding sources
  • Engagement with the Mission Implementation Platform and participation in the Mission Community of Practice

Expected outcomes

  • Demonstrated innovative solutions for cultural heritage protection under climate change
  • Improved preparedness of regional and local authorities hosting cultural heritage
  • Co-created climate-resilient solutions with relevant stakeholders and citizen engagement
  • Wide availability and upscaling of solutions across the EU and beyond

Who can apply / participate

  • Research organizations
  • Universities
  • SMEs and industry partners
  • Regional and local authorities
  • Non-governmental organizations
  • Cultural heritage institutions
  • Consortium must include at least three different regional or local authorities hosting cultural heritage, each from a different Member State or Associated Country
  • Involvement of heritage managers as beneficiaries or associated partners is preferred
  • Replication partners should be identified and involved for knowledge uptake
  • Demonstration activities must occur in at least three different Member States or Associated Countries
  • Replication regions must also be from different Member States or Associated Countries
  • Participants must comply with Horizon Europe eligibility rules
  • Demonstration sites and replication regions must be clearly identified
  • SSH expertise must be included in the consortium
  • Specific funding rates
  • Exact consortium size limits

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility of participating countries and regions
  • Capacity to involve at least three different regional/local authorities in different Member States or Associated Countries
  • Budget and consortium composition requirements

Money

Total budget allocated for this call is approximately €21 million for 2026, supporting around 3 grants with a maximum contribution of €7 million each.

  • Total budget for 2026 — 21000000EUR
    Supports approximately 3 grants
  • Maximum contribution per grant — 7000000EUR
    Indicative maximum funding per project

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission model.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as per Annex A and E of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
  • Eligible countries as per Annex B
  • Financial and operational capacity requirements as per Annex C
  • Evaluation criteria and procedures as per Annex D and F
  • Legal and financial setup as per Annex G
  • Prepare proposal according to the specific topic and general annexes
  • Ensure consortium meets eligibility and geographic requirements
  • Submit proposal via the Funding & Tenders Portal before the deadline
  • Engage with Mission Implementation Platform and plan for participation in Mission Community of Practice
  • Demonstration activities must be in at least 3 different regional/local authorities in different Member States or Associated Countries
  • Replication partners must be identified and involved
  • SSH expertise is mandatory for societal impact
  • Avoid maladaptation in proposed solutions

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 16:38 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.

Related calls

These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.

Official source text

Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.

Topic description

Expected Outcome: In line with the EU Adaptation Strategy and the objectives of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, successful proposals will support the preservation of cultural heritage (moveable, immoveable and natural with cultural significance) under a changing climate. Project results are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes: Innovative solutions for protecting and preserving cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change have been demonstrated and are made widely available for upscaling and deployment across the European Union and beyond. This includes nature-based solutions. Regional and local authorities hosting cultural heritage are better prepared to preserve it under a changing climate. Relevant stakeholders - including heritage scientists and managers, climate scientists, regional and local policymakers, civil society and representatives from the tourism industry - have co-created and put in place climate-resilient solutions. Citizens and local communities have also been engaged in the process. Scope: Rationale As the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, economic losses associated with it are also increasing. However, not all impacts can be quantified economically. This is the case of cultural heritage, which is particularly threatened by climate change but requires dedicated solutions due to its own specificities. Cultural heritage is a key priority for adaptation in the COP28 UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience but has not been addressed by the Mission so far. This is why this action aims to identify and demonstrate solutions that protect and preserve cultural heritage from climate impacts. This topic focuses on tangible (movable and immovable) heritage, and natural heritage with cultural significance. Innovative and effective solutions are needed to help cultural heritage managers and local communities to prepare the cultural heritage sites, structures, and artefacts against the climate impacts, in a way that safeguards their cultural and historical integrity and acknowledges the importance they hold for present and future generations. Solutions sought Proposals should identify, test and demonstrate innovative solutions to protect and preserve cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change and identify possible trade-offs and co-benefits. The solutions may address different aspects of heritage protection and preservation such as, but not limited to, innovative environmental assessment methodologies, monitoring technologies and systems, (green) conservation and restoration techniques [1] , risk management and disaster prevention, etc. All of the following aspects should be considered: The solutions are expected to be co-designed by all the relevant stakeholders and to engage citizens. When relevant, nature-based solutions should be explored as a priority The solutions should consider the potential interactions and compound effects of different hazards. Careful consideration is necessary to avoid maladaptation. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities Demonstration sites and related activities The Mission encourages collaborations between regional and local authorities facing similar challenges and considers this to be a very efficient approach to secure a large impact. Therefore, the demonstration activities of the proposals: Must take place in the territory of at least 3 different regional or local authorities that host cultural heritage , each established in a different Member State or Associated Country, with the involvement of these regional or local authorities and of relevant heritage managers (preferably participating in the consortium as a beneficiary or associated partner). Should already identify at least 3 replicating regional or local authorities from 3 different Member States or Associated Countries , interested in reapplying the lessons learnt (totally, partially or with the required adjustments) in their territories. For the replication, the consortium could include one or more partners that would provide support for the technical exchanges and the knowledge uptake in the replicating” regions or local authorities. Replicating regions are not necessarily expected to carry out on the ground activities already in the course of the project. However, replicating regions should at least prepare the theoretical framework for replicating the successful solutions and explore means to fund the implementation of those solutions. Links to the Mission and to other projects and initiatives Proposals should build (when relevant) on existing knowledge and adaptation solutions developed by previous projects [2] and explore synergies with ongoing projects [3] from EU and national programmes, like the European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage and the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change . Synergies with other funding sources (EU and national) are encouraged to identify opportunities to scale up the solutions demonstrated and to foster their broad deployment across Europe through other programmes. Proposals should include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links and collaboration with the Mission Implementation Platform (including on monitoring). Projects funded under this topic will be expected to participate in the Mission Community of Practice and to share relevant knowledge to feed the work of the project stemming from HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02. Proposals are encouraged to (dedicate resources to) link their monitoring to the framework developed by the project UNDERPIN . Applicants should acknowledge these elements and already account for them in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Mission. [1] a green conservation approach is minimally harmful to the environment and humans. Aligning with the circular economy, green conservation is decarbonizing, zero-waste, accessible, and available. ( GoGreen ) [2] Topics from Horizon Europe’s cluster 2 that are particularly relevant include : HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01 ; HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08 ; HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-01 ,. as well as European Heritage Hub [3] See for example, EU’s disaster risk management-related capacity building projects

Conditions and documents

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

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.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

The following additional eligibility criteria apply:

Demonstration activities must take place in the territory of at least 3 different regional or local authorities that host cultural heritage, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country.

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.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Support information

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. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. 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 help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.

Raw budget overview
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