A European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage – Innovative use cases

The main goal of this opportunity is to support the development and implementation of the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH). It aims to enable collaboration and co-creation among cultural heritage professionals, researchers, and institutions across Europe. The initiative focuses on real-world use cases, testing the ECCCH platform and its tools, and improving work processes. Key features include advanced digital twins, large-scale cooperation, and integration with related European platforms. The scope covers EU Member States and Associated Countries, promoting a shared European cultural identity.

• Projects must follow submission guidelines, including page limits and budget templates.
• Each project should involve entities from at least five different EU Member States or Associated Countries as active ECCCH users.
• Participants should represent a variety of organizations, such as small and large institutions or different cultural/scientific sectors.
• If using satellite data, projects must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS systems.
• All developed software must be open source, unless justified exceptions apply.
• Projects must coordinate with other ECCCH initiatives and document their activities for platform improvement.
• Up to 15% of the budget can be allocated as grants to third parties, with a maximum of €60,000 per recipient.

Examples:

• A consortium of museums and tech companies from six EU countries develops a digital twin of a historic site, using open-source tools and sharing results on the ECCCH platform.
• Universities and cultural archives from five countries create an interoperable data space for rare manuscripts, coordinating with other ECCCH projects and allocating part of their budget to smaller heritage organizations.
• A group of cultural institutions tests new collaborative workflows for art restoration, using Copernicus satellite data and sharing their open-source software with the ECCCH community.

• Salaries and personnel costs for project staff
• Development of open-source software and digital tools
• Purchase or rental of equipment needed for project activities
• Costs for data collection, processing, and storage
• Travel and accommodation for project meetings and collaboration
• Workshops, training sessions, and dissemination events
• Documentation and reporting of project activities and results
• Financial support to third parties (up to 15% of the budget, maximum €60,000 per third party)
• Licensing costs for justified proprietary software (must provide free user license for all ECCCH users)

Restrictions: All software should be open source unless justified. Financial support to third parties is limited to grants, with clear caps as noted above.

• Budget for this Call: 26.000.000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 8
• Maximum value per project: 4.000.000€
• Minimum value per project: 2.500.000€

• Applicants must be legal entities from eligible EU Member States or Associated Countries
• Consortia must include organizations from at least five different eligible countries
• Mix of small and large organizations, and various cultural or scientific sectors, is required
• Entities established in China are not eligible to participate
• If using satellite-based data or services, Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS systems must be used
• Applicants must submit all required forms, including detailed budget tables
• Participation in ECCCH common activities and coordination with other projects is mandatory