Solutions sought

Proposals should identify approaches and demonstrate innovative solutions to increase climate resilience in coastal areas. They should explore, in a systemic way, how to best adapt to different pressures — ranging from sea level rise (e.g., coastal floods, coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion) and invasive species to changing physical and chemical properties of the waters. Proposals should outline how the innovative solutions they put forward avoid maladaptation, consider equity and inclusivity and address long-term climate impacts (i.e. 2100 and beyond).

Demonstration sites and related activities

The Mission encourages collaborations between coastal regional and local authorities facing similar challenges and considers this to be a very efficient approach to secure a large impact.

Proposal should address all the following aspects:

• Demonstration activities must take place in the territory of at least 3 different coastal regional or local authorities, each established in a different Member States or Associated Country, with the involvement of these regional or local authorities (preferably participating in the consortium as a beneficiary or associated partner).
• The territory of at least one of those 3 demonstration activities should be located in a “EUCRA hotspot area” — i.e. Southern Europe, low-lying coastal area, or EU Member State outermost regions.
• The proposals should already identify at least 3 “replicating” coastal regional or local authorities from 3 different Member States or Associated Countries, interested in reapplying the lessons learnt (totally, partially or with the required adjustments) in their territories. For the replication, the consortium could include one or more partners that would provide support for the technical exchanges and the knowledge uptake in the “replicating” regions or local authorities. Replicating regions are not expected to conduct a demonstration or carry out on the ground activities already in the course of the project. However, replicating regions should at least prepare the theoretical framework for replicating the successful solutions (through exchanges with the demonstration regions), and explore means to fund the implementation of those solutions.

Links to the Mission and to other projects and initiatives

Synergies with other funding sources (EU and national) should be sought to support the transfer of knowledge and innovative solutions to other regional and local authorities. This ranges from identifying opportunities to scaling up the solutions demonstrated and fostering their broad deployment across Europe. These funding sources could be public, private or a mix of both. Relevant public funding includes the LIFE programme, and its integrated projects in particular, the European Regional Development and European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Funds.