About the call
In the ERA-NET Cofund Urban Transformation Capacities (ENUTC) Call, 16 national research and innovation funding agencies, from 14 European countries (namely members of the Joint Programming Initiative Urban Europe), with the European Commission, earmarked a global budget of about 18.4 M€, in order to support transnational R&I projects.
This call welcomed a broad range of research and innovation projects enabling capacity building for urban transformations. Projects should clearly build upon previous experiences of building capacity in practice and build upon existing knowledge of transformation capacities towards urban sustainability, resilience and liveability.
Projects should study transformation processes and transformative capacity building for increased knowledge and understanding of such processes making it possible to develop this knowledge further. Projects were encouraged to use new technologies and tools for implementation of research and innovation and to ensure possibilities for scaling up.
The call opened in January 2021 and closed for submissions in September 2021. Projects started in March 2022 and ended in 2025
Projects
In December 2021, 16 projects were announced and recommended for funding in this call. Learn more about the announcement here. You may also learn more about the projects here:
- CARIN-PT
- CircularCityChallenge
- City&Co
- CO-HOPE / Collaborative Housing in a Pandemic Era
- CoNECT
- CONTRA
- COOLSCHOOLS
- CREATE
- CREST
- EmbedterLabs
- Infrastructuring Libraries in Transformation (ILIT)
- Municipalist Neighborhood Experiments / MUNEX
- OPUSH
- TANGO-W
- TRUSTMAKING
- U-GARDEN
Call topics
In this call, urban transformation capacities were related to three main topics, which addressed a wide variety of urban challenges. Because of the intricacy of issues, the three call topics overlapped and there were also crosscutting concerns (use of data, tools for decision-makers, etc.). Each challenge considered these transverse issues from a specific perspective.
Topic 1: Urban circular economies
This implied functional urban design in support of circular systems, the use of nature-based solutions – actions for societal challenges inspired by processes and functioning of nature – and for supporting circularity in resource use and waste management strategies, business models and smart city developments for the common good.
Topic 2: Community-based developments and urban innovation ecosystems
This implied innovative neighbourhoods which enable social innovation and local entrepreneurs, inhabitant engagement, co-creation and co-design to support liveable, just, inclusive and attractive neighbourhoods.
Topic 3: Robust and resilient urban infrastructure and built environment
This implied an urban infrastructure and a built environment that can resist natural, environmental, social, economic and technological threats on smaller and larger scales based on efficient use of resources. It also implied fair access to urban infrastructure and the built environment.
Timeline
Call opening: 29 January 2021, 13.00 CET
International information webinar: 18 February 2021, 13.00-14.30 CET
International online matchmaking event: 9 March 2021, 10.00-12.00 CET
Matchmaking platform opened Friday 26 Feb and closed for registration 15 April
Pre-proposal submission deadline: 15 April 2021 (14:00 CEST)
Evaluation of pre-proposals: April – May 2021
Submission open for full proposals: June 2021
Full proposals submission deadline: 23 September 2021 (14:00 CEST)
Evaluation of full proposals: September – October 2021
Funding decisions announced: December 2021 – March 2022
>> Kick-off event & Agora dialogue: April 2022
>> Urban Lunch Talk: Envisioning a sustainable future: Public infrastuctures – what will they be and look like? 21 October 2022
>> Mid-term event & Agora dialogue, Netherlands (with BTC call’s kick-off event): 8–10 November 2023
>> Urban lunch talk: New perspectives and approaches – What is needed for policy making?: 27 May 2024
>> Urban Living Labs in Action: From Europe to Latin America’s Neighbourhoods and Cities: 5 December 2024
>> Final event & Agora dialogue, Sweden: 5-7 February 2025
>> Urban Lunch Talk: The aftermath – What came out of the ENUTC calls?: 27 October 2025
Projects end: 2025
More information
>> Newsletter: Upcoming ENUTC call
>> Article: Digital kick-off event
>> Newsletter: Special Edition for ENUTC cofunded
>> Article: Projects met in the Netherlands
>> Newsletter: ENUTC Midterm & Kick-off event for cofunded and BTC projects
>> International training: Reflection on continuation
>> Newsletter: ENUTC final event for cofunded call
>> ENUTC BTC Project Result Catalogue 2025
Call secretariat
Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI)
Participating countries and funding agencies:
