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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core Objective: Support the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) by thoroughly testing and implementing innovative, real-world use cases.
Target Recipient Type and Size: Open to a wide range of organizations, including cultural heritage institutions, researchers, and entities within the cultural and creative industries. Both small and large organizations are encouraged to participate.
Designation: SECTOR-SPECIFIC focusing on Cultural Heritage and Cultural and Creative Industries.
Geographic Scope: Projects must involve entities from at least five different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Key Filtering Criteria: Focus on practical application and improvement of the ECCCH platform, digital cultural heritage, and collaborative, open-source development.
Grant Frequency: This is part of the ongoing Horizon Europe program, indicating a recurring context for funding opportunities.

Financial Structure

Total budget for this topic (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-HERITAGE-03) is EUR 26,000,000.
Individual grant amounts are expected to range between EUR 2,500,000 and EUR 4,000,000.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum. This means payments are based on the proper implementation of defined work packages and deliverables, rather than on detailed reporting of actual incurred costs.
The lump sum calculation includes both direct and indirect costs. Indirect costs are calculated using a flat rate of 25% of direct costs that qualify for indirect cost calculation.
Financial support to third parties (specifically cultural heritage institutions for tool/technology take-up and use case validation) is permitted:
A maximum of 15% of the total project budget may be allocated for financial support to third parties.
The maximum amount to be granted to each individual third party is EUR 60,000.
This support can only be provided in the form of grants.
A contribution (typically between 5% and 8%) to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism will be retained from the total lump sum.
Financial reporting focuses on the successful completion of work packages, simplifying administrative burdens.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Legal Status

Eligible organizations include cultural heritage institutions, researchers, and entities from cultural and creative industries. The term 'professionals' is broadly defined to encompass anyone working with cultural heritage in a professional or semi-professional way, including researchers and those in related activities within cultural and creative industries.
Legal entities established in China are NOT eligible to participate in Innovation Actions in any capacity.

Geographic Location

The project consortium MUST involve entities from at least five different EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Financial & Operational Capacity

Applicants must meet the financial and operational capacity criteria as detailed in the Work Programme General Annexes.

Technical Requirements

All software developed for the project must be open source, licensed under a CC0 public domain dedication or an open-source license recommended by the Free Software Foundation or the Open Source Initiative.
If the use of proprietary (non-open source) software components is necessary due to disproportional efforts or diminished quality/performance with open-source alternatives:
An open functional replacement must be available.
They must NOT introduce proprietary data formats or Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
A full user license, free of charge for an unlimited period, must be granted to the ECCCH consortium and all its users.
All software and other related deliverables must be compliant with the data model and software development guidelines established by the project funded under topic 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
Proposals must demonstrate the capacity to implement important improvements and fix any problems detected during the project's course, in line with ECCCH design principles.

Consortium Requirements

Projects MUST involve a wide range of different organizations from across Europe.
The consortium MUST include entities from at least five different EU Member States or Associated Countries as active users of the ECCCH platform.
The consortium should involve entities of different characteristics, such as small and large organizations, and those from different subsectors/areas of activity or scientific disciplines.

Application Process

Application Deadline

The submission deadline for proposals is 2025-09-16 at 00:00:00 UTC.

Submission Process

Applications must be submitted exclusively through the Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service.
The application form specific to this call (Innovation Action - IA using lump sum) is available within the Submission System.
Applicants are required to submit a detailed budget table using the template provided in the Submission System.
Part B of the application form has a page limit of 50 pages.

Required Documentation

Standard application form (HE RIA, IA).
Detailed budget table (HE LS template) for lump sum proposals.

Evaluation Process

Proposals will undergo a single-stage evaluation process by external independent experts, following standard Horizon Europe procedures.
The evaluation criteria include 'Excellence', 'Impact', and 'Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation'.
Experts with financial knowledge will scrutinize the proposed budget estimates against relevant benchmarks.
Applicants must confirm that their estimated budget was prepared following their own accounting practices.

Grant Agreement & Duration

The final grant amount will be a fixed lump sum included in the grant agreement.
An appropriate project duration for grants funded under this topic is estimated to be approximately 2 to 2.5 years.

Post-Award Requirements

Payments are linked to the successful completion and verification of work packages as defined in the grant agreement.
While beneficiaries are not required to document every incurred cost for the granting authority, they must adhere to their national accounting rules.
Projects are expected to actively participate in common activities of the broader ECCCH initiative and ensure close coordination with other ECCCH projects, particularly the project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
Projects must set up their individual websites under the common ECCCH website, which is managed by the project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
Regular coordination mechanisms among all projects funded under this specific topic are expected to ensure synchronized planning and synergy.

Evaluation Criteria

Excellence

Quality of the proposed use cases and their potential to contribute to a seamlessly working, user-friendly, inclusive, and powerful European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH).
Soundness of the proposed methodology, including plans for demanding end-to-end testing of the platform and its tools.
Clarity of objectives and the level of ambition for innovation, aiming for new realms of research, knowledge, and societal value.
Extent to which the project builds on and advances the existing knowledge and technologies in digital cultural heritage.

Impact

Potential to significantly contribute to the widespread adoption and use of the ECCCH by European cultural heritage professionals and researchers.
Effectiveness of plans for documenting and communicating deployed use cases to exemplify benefits and attract new users.
Contribution to the overall vision of the ECCCH, emphasizing lasting collaboration, co-creation, and the enabling of new business models at the intersection of cultural heritage and creative industries.
Alignment with broader European objectives such as the New European Bauhaus initiative, UN Sustainable Development Goals, European Green Deal goals, and the digital transformation agenda.
Expected contribution to realizing the full potential of cultural heritage and cultural/creative industries as drivers of sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging.

Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including the appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources among consortium members.
Quality of the consortium composition, ensuring diversity in organization types (small, large) and scientific disciplines from at least five different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Robustness of coordination mechanisms, including provisions for active participation in common ECCCH initiative activities and coordination with other ECCCH projects (specifically HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01).
Adequacy of resources and planning for implementing identified improvements and fixing problems within the ECCCH platform functionality.
Financial efficiency, with the proposed lump sum budget demonstrating a detailed, well-justified estimation of direct and indirect costs.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Technical Compliance

All software developed under the grant must be open source, ideally under a CC0 public domain dedication or a license recommended by the Free Software Foundation or the Open Source Initiative.
Any use of proprietary (non-open source) components is strictly conditioned: an open functional replacement must exist, they must not introduce proprietary data formats or APIs, and a free, unlimited user license must be granted to the ECCCH consortium and all users.
All software and deliverables must comply with the data model and software development guidelines established by the project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
Data produced should adhere to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable). New interoperability standards developed should leverage existing practices in European common data spaces and Research Infrastructures.

Project Coordination & Collaboration

Projects are required to engage in concertation activities and maintain close coordination with other projects within the ECCCH initiative, especially the core project funded under 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01'.
The budget must include provisions for attending regular joint coordination meetings.
Projects must actively contribute to the activities and objectives of the 'HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01' project.
Duplication of activities already funded under other ECCCH projects is prohibited; proposals must demonstrate new value.

Ethical Standards

General ethical standards and research integrity requirements, as outlined in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, are applicable.

Intellectual Property (IP)

The project must ensure that IPR rights for digital objects stored in the ECCCH and resulting from ECCCH-based collaboration are fully recorded and traceable.
Guidelines for IPR use, such as those provided by RightsStatements.org, should be applied where appropriate to facilitate new business models.

Satellite Data Use

If the project involves satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services, beneficiaries are mandated to utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Risk Management

Proposals should demonstrate an inherent capacity to implement necessary improvements and rectify any problems or issues identified during the implementation of the innovative use cases.

Grant Details