Facilitating implementation of actionable solutions for climate adaptation of regions and local authorities

Expected Outcome:

The successful proposal will contribute to the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan. Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• The wide range of solutions tested and deployed in the context of the Adaptation Mission and the good practices emerged in its Community of Practice are harvested, assessed, structured and systematised to support the implementation of the Mission.
• Regional and local authorities can access, in the local language, the latest and most actionable solutions for climate adaptation relevant to their (climatic) conditions.
• Adaptation solutions stemming from research and innovation are ready for replication and scale-up, contributing to the delivery of the Adaptation Mission and acceleration of adaptation efforts across Europe. Legacy of the knowledge created by the Mission is also ensured.
• Knowledge and understanding of the policy implications of adaptation solutions is increasingly utilised in the policy cycles at EU, national, and regional and local levels.

Scope:

Rationale

Grounded in Research and Innovation, EU Missions aim to mobilise R&I actors to help tackle some of the most pressing societal issues. In this spirit, the Adaptation Mission has funded over 50 projects to test and develop solutions that help regions adapting to climate change. However, creating knowledge is not enough to trigger change at the pace required. It is essential that that the right knowledge reaches the decision-makers. Acting as a follow-up to REGILIENCE-plus, this topic aims to ensure that the actionable solutions developed in the context of the Mission (and beyond) are actively brought to the knowledge and made available to the regions and local authorities in Europe.

Target audience

Regional and local authorities, in particular the ones already involved in the Mission^[1], are the target group of the proposed activities and the customers of the in-depth knowledge provision of solutions. While they are not expected to participate in the consortium, they should benefit from the project funded by this action, which should primarily use the Mission Implementation Platform’s channels to feed them with new information products, also based on the needs expressed by them (e.g. see Analysis of information provided by the signatories of the charter of the Mission Adaptation to Climate Change when adhering to the Charter).

Activities of the project

The proposals should address all of the following aspects:

• Systematically identify and harvest knowledge and solutions from relevant projects. While the priority should be given to solutions from projects funded by the Adaptation Mission, other relevant projects from Horizon Europe and other EU and national funding programmes should be considered.
• Produce a detailed inventory of adaptation solutions, in coordination with the Mission Implementation Platform, in which each solution is presented to enable regions and local authorities to easily implement/replicate them. The inventory should:
  1. Be structured in line with the Mission Implementation Plan’s “key community systems and enabling conditions”, in view of ensuring maximum coherence within the Mission.
  2. Build on previous analyses or information already harvested by REGILIENCE-plus, other projects such as, NetworkNature+, RESIST’s inventory and other relevant projects/initiatives.
  3. Include key information to allow for replication (including but not limited to cost effectiveness, financing and potential barriers & enablers).
• These solutions should be proactively promoted with the regions and local authorities participating in the Adaptation Mission to support replication and uptake of those solutions. This should be done, amongst other things through multilingual approach. The proposals could also support the authorities in the development and implementation of such solutions in their regional and local contexts (i.e., know-how).
• The proposal should also feed the EU policy cycle by identifying good practices that merit particular attention by EU policymakers in view of strengthening policy innovation in coming cycles (feedback to policy task).
• The project is expected to last until the end of the Mission, i.e. end of 2030.

Links to the Mission and other projects and initiatives

As a coordination and support action, collaboration with the Mission and other initiatives will be key to ensure the success of this action. In particular, close collaboration should be sought with all the following actors:

• Mission secretariat – to ensure the relevance of the activities within the Mission
• The Mission Implementation platform– the project funded under this topic should support and closely cooperate with the Mission Implementation Platform, to avoid duplication and streamline the communication to regions and local authorities. The collaboration should be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded as soon as possible after the projects' starting date.
• The National Hubs^[2]– to enhance the dissemination of information and make sure that this dissemination is tailored to the national context.

Collaboration with other relevant existing platforms, projects and initiatives is also encouraged.

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] For instance through the Mission Charter or in the Mission Projects

[2] Set up by the projects stemming from HORIZON-2024-MISS-01-02 and extended by the topic HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-01