Open topic: Impact-driven research on realising the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative industries

Expected outcomes

• Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
• For each outcome (EO1), name who will use or adopt your results (a specific group, not “industry” or “society”), how they get them, and the indicator that shows the change, with baseline, target and date.
• Use the topic's own words for each outcome, so the evaluator can tick it off.

What the scope asks for

Evaluators check the proposal against these sentences of the scope. Answer each one visibly, in the call's own words.

• “Applicants are invited to design the best possible and groundbreaking research and innovation to achieve that the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and/or cultural and creative industries as drivers of sustainable innovation and/or a European sense of belonging is realised.”
• “However, research under this topic should have an impact-driven focus and move beyond descriptive studies towards transformative, actionable knowledge.”
• “As appropriate for the focus chosen, proposals should build on previous research, networks or platforms.”
• “Projects must not, however, duplicate activities already funded but should explore new areas.”

Conditions that shape the proposal

• Part B, sections 1–3: 45 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
• Lump sum: the budget is fixed per work package and paid when each work package is completed. Every work package needs activities and deliverables an evaluator can verify, and the effort must match the money.
• Two-stage submission: the first stage uses a shorter proposal and is assessed on Excellence and Impact only. Check the page limit and sections in the stage-one form of your call.
• Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout: “Applicants submitting a proposal for a blind evaluation (see General Annex F) must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application (see General Annex E).”
• Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: “The first-stage proposals of this topic will be evaluated blindly.”

Impact pathway and traps

• Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
• For each destination impact you claim, show which of your outcomes feeds it. Destination impacts are long-term effects, not project deliverables.
• Name the barriers outside the project (regulation, markets, user behaviour) that could block uptake, and what you will do if they do.
• Section 2.3 (the summary canvas) is optional on this call; the old split into scientific, economic and societal impact is no longer required.