#connectedinEurope: New EU funding opportunities – Aiming for a sustainable and liveable urban future
The Joint Partnership Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe is working together with the European Commission on a longer-term programme called „Driving Urban Transitions towards a Sustainable and Livable Urban Future“ (DUT). This programme runs from 2021 to 2027 under Horizon Europe. DUT aims to create a strong community around urban transitions and to establish a well-known research and innovation platform that will help cities become more sustainable, inclusive and liveable. DUT is one out of 49 European partnerships under Horizon Europe framework and the only one addressing urban development in its complexity, with a close link to the European mission of 100 climate-neutral and smart cities.
Through research, innovation and capacity building, the funding programme enables local authorities and municipalities, service and infrastructure providers, and citizens to translate global strategies like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into local action. 90 out of the 169 indicators encompassing urban areas underlying the importance of sustainable
urban transformations for the future of humanity on the planet. This includes the development of skills and tools to drive urban change and promote much needed urban transformation towards a sustainable future with improved quality of life in cities.
The purpose of the DUT Call 2022 is to support transnational research and/or innovation projects that address urban challenges to help cities transition to a more sustainable economy and functioning. The challenges are grouped into three themes called Transition Pathways:
- The Circular Urban Economies Transition Pathway (CUE TP)
- The Positive Energy Districts Transition Pathway (PED TP)
- The 15-minute City Transition Pathway (15mC TP)
The DUT Call 2022 opened on 21 September and offers opportunities for transnational and transdisciplinary cooperation along and across the three DUT Transition Pathways.
In addition, a portfolio of measures is offered to strengthen the community and build capacities in all stakeholder groups, networking and learning across countries, sectors and disciplines.
Activities include furthermore provision of scientific evidence and recommendations to policy making on all levels as well as valorisation of research results to allow urban dwellers to experience how a future neighbourhood may look and feel. This can be done through co-creation approaches (design thinking processes such as business model canvas workshops) with citizens and all stakeholder groups in the ecosystem of the city or municipality.