The purpose of this Call is to support transnational research and/or innovation projects addressing urban challenges to help cities in their transition towards a more sustainable economy and functioning. The challenges are grouped into three themes called Transition Pathways: Positive Energy Districts (PED), the 15-Minute City (15mC) and Circular Urban Economies (CUE).
The projects selected within this Call will be funded directly by national/regional Funding Agencies from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United-Kingdom.
Each proposal must involve, at least, three partners from three countries of this list and eligible for funding by their respective national/regional Funding Agency. The added value of transnational collaboration should be clearly stated.
The Call is opened to a wide range of scientific disciplines and welcomes interdisciplinary approaches. It intends to support a large range of activities, from research to innovation and implementation. It also asks to engage explicitly stakeholders (companies, public authorities, NGOs…) in the projects and to consider users’ needs in the identification of the project goals.
DUT Call 2022 is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Partnership scheme. The call is also part of the MICall 2022 to contribute the Urban Transition Mission of Mission Innovation.
The basis of the call topics description are the three Transition Pathways (TP): Positive Energy Districts (PED), 15-minute City (15mC), and Circular Urban Economies (CUE).
For each TP, several topics are defined. The context, issues and opportunities that define each topic are first presented first, in terms that aim to inspire research and innovation ideas, along with examples of expected results and outcomes that may be addressed either through the research-oriented approach or through the innovation-oriented approach.
Furthermore, since urban transition issues are intrinsically interconnected, it is possible to address several topics, either from the same or from different TPs, within the same proposal.
All projects should choose as their main TP the TP that is the closest to the subject they would like to address and may indicate the other TP involved if needed. Though the proposal will be evaluated within its principal main TP, crosscutting characteristics will also be taken into account in the assessment.
PED topic 1: Energy communities – energy transition driven by civil society
PED topic 2: Energy flexibility strategies – technological, legal, societal challenges
PED topic 3: Energy efficiency in existing urban structures
15mC topic 1: Strengthen the mix of urban functions and services
15mC topic 2: Foster sustainable options for personal mobility and logistics in urban outskirts (and beyond)
15mC topic 3: (Re)imagine urban public spaces and streets for vibrant, sustainable neighbourhoods
CUE topic 1: Urban Resource Sharing and Circularity
CUE topic 2: Nature-based solutions (NBS)
CUE topic 3: Urban food systems