Area of investment and support

Joint programming initiatives

The Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage (JPI CH) promotes safeguarding cultural heritage including tangible, intangible, and digital assets. The JPI on Urban Europe (JPI UE) will help Europe’s cities transition to a future maximising their sustainability, resilience and liveability.

• Partners involved: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Innovate UK.

The scope and what we're doing

There are two strands to the programme.

Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage (JPI CH)

Since the launch of the JPI CH, a strategic research agenda on cultural heritage has been implemented by EU member states and associated countries. Five joint funding opportunities have been run, and 38 transnational projects funded to date.

Joint Programming Initiative on Urban Europe (JPI UE)

The JPI UE responds to the pressing need for ambitious, sustained and genuinely inter- and transdisciplinary research and innovation.

Since its launch, a strategic research and innovation agenda has been developed and adopted. More than 70 projects have been funded and knowledge and innovation activities, such as conferences and dedicated workshops, have helped to translate research into policy recommendations.

Find out more about JPI UE.

Why we're doing it

The Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage promotes safeguarding cultural heritage in its broader sense, including tangible, intangible and digital assets.

Research projects have covered a wide range of topics, including:

• understanding damage and decay mechanisms on tangible heritage
• increasing understanding of cultural values, valuation, interpretation, ethics and identity
• safeguarding tangible cultural heritage and its associated intangible expressions
• providing sustainable strategies for protecting and managing cultural heritage
• promoting the use and reuse of all kinds of cultural heritage.

Results from the Joint Programming Initiative on Urban Europe will radically improve our understanding of the social, economic and environmental sustainability of urban areas.

It will help Europe’s cities transition to a future that maximises their sustainability, resilience, and their liveability, vital in an era of global competition for commerce, industry, tourism, labour and investment.

Opportunities, support and resources available

Find funding opportunities for Joint Programme Initiative on Cultural Heritage on the heritage hub research website.

Find funding opportunities for Joint Programme Initiative on Urban Europe.

Past projects, outcomes and impact

ERA-NET Co-fund Smart Urban Futures

AHRC, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) jointly participated in the interdisciplinary ERA-NET Co-fund Smart Urban Futures funding opportunity under the Joint Programming Initiative on Urban Europe which funded 15 transnational projects focusing on a wide range of topics, from re-industrialisation to developing early warning pluvial flood tools.

Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative (SUGI) Food-Water-Energy Nexus

AHRC, ESRC and Innovate UK jointly supported seven interdisciplinary projects as part of the Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative (SUGI) Food-Water-Energy Nexus funding opportunity established by the Belmont Forum in collaboration with the Joint Programme Initiative on Urban Europe. The funded projects aim to find innovative new solutions to challenges connected with population increase, food shortages, scarce water and insufficient energy resources.

The Belmont Forum is an international partnership that mobilises funding of environmental change research and accelerates its delivery to remove critical barriers to sustainability.

Urban migration

AHRC and ESRC have supported seven international transdisciplinary consortia as part of the urban migration funding opportunity, focusing on the way that migration affects, and is affected by, the life and functioning of cities.

See the projects awarded funding in the Urban migration funding opportunity.

Who to contact

Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage

Karen Buchanan, Strategy and Development Manager

Email: enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org

Joint Programming Initiative on Urban Europe

Emily Bultitude, Senior Investment Manager

Email: enquiries@ahrc.ukri.org

Last updated: 31 July 2023