Description

This Horizon Europe call funds research and innovation actions (RIA) aimed at strengthening the resilience of rural communities across the EU to a range of shocks—including climate, environmental, and socio-economic disruptions. Projects should develop evidence-based and participatory methodologies to help rural areas anticipate, prepare for, and recover from such shocks, while fostering inclusive governance and engaging young people, women, and vulnerable groups in disaster risk reduction and crisis management planning.

Proposals are expected to:

• Assess various types of shocks affecting rural livelihoods (e.g., infrastructure, economic, demographic, environmental).
• Measure resilience using appropriate indicators, evaluating both initial impacts and recovery capacity.
• Foster inclusive and participatory governance, ensuring active involvement of youth, women, and vulnerable populations.
• Identify and mobilize local resources to co-design and implement adaptation and resilience solutions.
• Support all levels of government in understanding rural vulnerabilities and designing effective response and recovery strategies.
• Collaborate with other relevant Horizon Europe projects and contribute to the development of the European Commission’s Resilience Dashboards.

A multi-actor approach is required, involving researchers, local authorities, rural communities, and other stakeholders (e.g., civil protection). International cooperation and knowledge exchange are encouraged. Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) expertise must be integrated throughout the project.