Call: Culture, integration and European public space

• Health, demographic change and wellbeing;
• Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the Bioeconomy;
• Secure, clean and efficient energy;
• Smart, green and integrated transport;
• Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials;
• Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies;
• Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens.

This subprogramme will address social exclusion, discriminations and various forms of inequalities. It will explore new forms of innovation and strengthen the evidence base for the Innovation Union, the European Research Area and other relevant EU policies. It will promote coherent and effective cooperation with third countries. Finally, it will address the issues of memories, identities, tolerance and cultural heritage. The approach adopted in the present calls is in line with the Horizon 2020 Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) cross-cutting issue, engaging multiple actors including society, integrating the gender and ethical dimensions, ensuring the access to research outcomes. Some Topics deal specifically with formal and informal (science) education.

There is an urgent need to understand the role of culture in defining “public space”, and role of culture in enabling or problematizing cultural integration whilst respecting diversity. “Public spaces” are the arenas in which key cultural interactions and societal dynamics take place and can be observed. This notion of “public space” can be interpreted widely: it includes physical and built environments, landscapes and material culture. But it also includes cultural zones, public spheres and “virtual” spaces defined by media, language, ethnicity, shared values, political allegiances, religious identities, creative practices, and communication technologies. Recent research is acknowledging the crucial importance of physical things, objects and material traces of culture, and the value of material culture for providing new ways of looking at multiple histories and identities within a diversified Europe.

Activities under this topic should explore the dynamics through which European “public spaces” both shape, and are shaped, by cultural activity, and the dynamics through which integration can be practised and understood. This will involve investigating a variety of perspectives.

Participation of legal entities from international partner countries is encouraged in the joint call as well as in other joint activities. Participants from countries which are not automatically eligible for funding may nonetheless request a Union contribution on to cover the coordination costs of additional activities on the basis of the ERA-NET unit cost.

At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other. 

Participants in ERA-NET Cofund actions must be ‘research funders’, i.e. legal entities owning or managing public research and innovation programmes. 

ERA-NET Cofund actions support coordination and collaboration between Member States and their research and innovation programmes. Consequently participation in these actions is limited to entities that can fully participate in joint calls and other actions between national and regional programmes. In this regard programme owners are typically national/regional ministries/authorities responsible for defining, financing or managing research programmes carried out at national or regional level. ‘Programme managers’ are typically research councils or funding agencies or other national or regional organisations that implement research programmes under the supervision of the programme owners.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of a maximum of 5 million € would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.

The EU contribution will be limited to a maximum of 33% of the total eligible costs of the action. The EU contribution to the costs for support to or implementation of transnational projects is limited to one call per grant agreement. 

Electronic application here.