Deadline: 07-Oct-21
The European Commission is inviting proposals for the Green technologies and materials for cultural heritage Programme.
Scope
- Materials and methods for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage can often be energy consuming, not environmentally friendly or even harmful for the health of operators and curators.
- Moreover, many of these materials and methods prove to be neither durable nor sustainable, often leading to repetitive and costly restoration of artefacts, monuments and heritage sites.
- Research has already addressed this challenge to a certain extent; yet, the wide range of materials, types of buildings and monuments, and the specific needs of artefacts call for further investigation and tailored solutions.
- In this context, and in view of achieving the objectives of the Green Deal, proposals under this topic should provide solutions and explore ways for quality conservation and restoration in a green and sustainable way.
- They should adopt and apply a holistic approach in conservation of art materials through an interdisciplinary network of knowledge and skills from the perspectives of hard sciences, soft sciences and engineering.
- Thanks to this, they should develop effective and sustainable strategies that are feasible, user friendly, affordable and safe to the operators and the artefacts, in order to ensure the long-term conservation of and physical access to cultural heritage resources.
- Monitoring the preservation status of artefacts, monuments and sites with non-intrusive, green tech solutions should also be considered.
- The proposed materials and methods for remedial or preventive conservation and restoration should be green, durable and sustainable.
- They should also minimize their environmental footprint[1] and impact on health of restorers, curators and craftspeople.
- Whenever necessary, they should also contribute to energy efficiency and sustainability of monuments, historic buildings and cultural institutions. Elaboration of traditional methods and materials, as well as digital and cutting-edge technologies should be developed or further exploited as necessary.
- Taking into account environmental, social and economic impacts, proposals should bring together basic and applied research, social, cultural and entrepreneurial innovation through the involvement of cultural and creative sectors to ensure sustainability.
- Participation of innovative industry and/or CCIs/SMEs, besides public entities and policy makers, is strongly advised.
- Awareness raising and further strengthening of citizens’ and young people’s involvement in new or traditional preservation and transmission methods should also be targeted to widen literacy, access to and engagement with cultural heritage.
Funding Information
The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).
Expected Outcomes
Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected outcomes:
- Contribute to the objectives of the Green Deal by developing methods to conserve, preserve and restore monuments and artefacts with respect to different materials in a sustainable, green way.
- Promote research on the quality of conservation, in order to foster a more sustainable and green maintenance and restoration of cultural heritage. Ensure higher quality standards in conservation and restoration of Europe’s cultural heritage.
- Improve sustainability and energy efficiency in heritage sites, museums and other cultural institutions.
- Strengthen citizens’ contribution to safeguarding of their cultural heritage and art.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
- eligible non-EU countries:
- countries associated to Horizon Europe
- low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3xnCykC