HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-03: AI integration in CCSI work practice: catalysing innovation and competitiveness

  • Action type: Innovation Actions
  • Opening date: 12 May 2026
  • Closing time: 16 September 2026 00:00 (Europe/Brussels)
  • Budget per project: € 5 000 000 of total € 15 000 000
  • Estimated number of projects funded: 3
  • Official website

Scope

Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

  • Insights, recommendations, strategies, guidelines, methods and tools supporting full AI integration in CCSI practices become available to CCSI, policymakers, and stakeholders.
  • Scenarios for co-created solutions tailored to CCSI needs, utilizing quality data and federated data sources, along with digital infrastructures, and inclusive cooperation processes, become available.
  • Generally made available AI-powered and ethically designed solutions, tools and services in several CCSI areas benefit creators, cultural professionals, and society, including persons with disabilities and other specific needs, fostering innovative creative expressions and improving creative business models while preserving and enhancing cultural diversity, and inclusion.
  • By mastering ethical and inclusive AI, CCSI are empowered drivers of culture, innovation, competitiveness and societal wellbeing.

Proposals should address one of the following two options, and are allowed to address both:

  • Develop scalable pilots for innovative AI-enabled products and services across diverse segments of sectoral value chains, in cooperation with CCSI. These pilots are expected to address identified gaps in CCSI operations and prioritise solutions that catalyse innovation in sectors whose business models are not yet taking full advantage of AI. Applicants should have flexibility to select their preferred application areas.
  • Design and pilot innovative, inclusive, ethically driven, transparent AI solutions to foster cultural and linguistic diversity, and enhance accessibility, with a focus on engaging underserved audiences, particularly youth, older people, persons with disabilities and individuals with special needs. Applicants should have the flexibility to select their preferred application areas.

Pilots should aim at leveraging AI for facilitating new revenue streams for the CCSI, as well as sustainable business models, and will highlight marketable solutions.

Remarks

Financial support to third parties of up to EUR 60.000 in the form of grants may be foreseen, with the aim of engaging entities external to the consortium in the development of pilots.

Consortia should include representatives of the cultural and creative sectors and industries and technology developers.

Proposals should consider relevant policy initiatives, such as the AI Continent Action Plan, and build upon existing research and innovation outcomes, particularly insights and resources from Horizon Europe-funded projects focused on digital transformation, innovation, or competitiveness in the CCSI, and science-technology-art collaboration, and will liaise with the EIT KIC Culture and Creativity. Whenever relevant, they might make use of existing facilities and platforms such as the European High-Performance-Computing network, the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH), the European Data Space for Cultural Heritage, ALT EDIC and other data spaces, European Digital Innovation Hubs, AI Factories, and relevant research infrastructures.
 

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