GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The successful proposals should:

• Deliver visionary and integrated solutions combining nature-based innovation and social, cultural, or digital solutions, with the NEB approach, in order to increase sustainability and resilience of communities and citizens’ well-being. These solutions should address environmental, social, cultural, economic determinants of resilience and well-being and support communities in reducing their exposure to climate-related risks, pollution (including noise) and social tensions.
• Demonstrate how the integration of NBS and NEB in solutions for innovative land-use management, urban design and planning could enhance ecosystem services, foster equitable access to public spaces, enhance their quality and use, or promote sustainable mobility.
• Considering the existing NBS portfolio, further demonstrate NBS, enriched with the new elements brought by the NEB (e.g., aesthetics, quality of experience), as well as with concerns on the circularity, ecodesign, origin and sustainability of materials used. These solutions should be applied in innovative configurations, e.g., in protected areas, eco-tourism sites, transport infrastructure, educational and cultural buildings, etc, notably contributing to urban regeneration, tourism opportunities, green job creation, social inclusion, or health and well-being.
• Considering that NBS inherently should always enhance biodiversity, explore the connections and possible trade-offs (and propose ways to overcome them) between biodiversity targets in NBS and the NEB, including in what concerns functionality and aesthetics/quality of experience.
• Propose solutions that involve innovative ways to make NBS compatible with built cultural heritage (e.g., cultural landscapes), and explore the possible role of NBS in increasing built cultural heritage’s resilience to climate change and natural disasters.
• Propose and test guidelines and innovative tools for the implementation, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation of NBS integrating the NEB approach (e.g., addressing issues of design/ergonomics or quality of experience), as well as the necessary business and governance models for their implementation and upscaling (e.g. local incentives for NBS in public and private spaces; exploring different forms of engagement, inclusion and stewardship, etc).
• Building on the approach of the NEB, develop place based NBS with strong citizen engagement (e.g., youth, elder, vulnerable communities), through social innovation, and the necessary tools for citizen participation and the co-creation of solutions.
• Incorporate outreach, dissemination and cooperation activities with local communities, industry, educational institutions, research centres, professional organisations or museums and other cultural organisations, supporting challenge-based and experiential NBS with real-life NEB applications, promoting public debate and a change of behaviour.
• Explore the role of NBS and NEB in transformative change to provide holistic solutions to address global challenges (climate, biodiversity, water, economic, demographic, etc), including through transformative and contemporary arts.

Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership, or market uptake.

Because of the substantial investments that might be necessary for implementing the NBS, additional or follow-up funding (private or public) should be sought, including from relevant regional/national schemes under the Recovery and Resilience Fund, the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), or other relevant funds.