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Research Policy & Development

INHERIT

Next Generation Solutions for Sustainable, Inclusive, Resource-efficient and Resilient Cultural Heritage

This project aims to use new technologies to boost sustainable, inclusive and resource-efficient cultural heritage.

Culture heritage - tangible and intangible - can be understood as a reservoir of creativity, well-being, identity and knowledge that is useful to overcome present and future challenges. The cultural value attributed to our traditional and historic buildings denotes our identity as communities and individuals, playing an important role both in urban and rural domains. The historic building stock is heterogeneous and consists of buildings from different time periods, constructed in different ways with different materials, and also follows different architectural ideals. This situation implies that there is a need for differentiated renovation strategies and targeted policies along the heritage built environment’s life cycle that promote energy efficiency, sustainability, inclusiveness and resource efficiency, while preserving cultural heritage value.

The overall vision of INHERIT is to create a systematic methodology, accompanied by leadingedge Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and (big) data analytics, and associated social/behavioural practices, towards sustainable, inclusive and resource-efficient CH solutions. INHERIT will enable socially innovative and economic viable interventions at different urban levels (buildings, city/neighbourhood), covering all relevant aspects of the heritage-built environment’s life cycle: (1) Design and renovation; (2) Monitoring, operation and management; (3) Preservation and maintenance. The solutions will be tested in 8 cultural heritage sites across EU. In addition, INHERIT will create a capacity building programme addressing heritage operators and stakeholders (including large companies, SMEs, public authorities, research organisations and citizens) to support sustainable CH with particular focus on NEB community and projects and will work on policy recommendations towards sustainable heritage.

ZSI conducts research and application projects on the social embedding and impact of all types of innovations and contributes to the design and diffusion of socially accepted and sustainable innovations to meet global challenges. ZSI leads WP2 on "Stakeholder engagement, co-creation & social innovation for the heritage built environment" of the INHERIT project with a particular focus on the stakeholder engagement strategy for the co-creation process and on maximising the social impact and sustainability of the selected cultural heritage pilots (in addition to the technical solutions that are envisaged for each building). More in detail, ZSI will have its contribution mainly in active engagement of citizens, stakeholders and social innovators in preservation of cultural heritage and creating sustainable cultural strategies. A social lab methodology is developed for the INHERIT project using a set of agile qualitative methods and approaches from social sciences and humanities as well as from the practice-led cultural management for pilot activities. In addition to this primary role, ZSI also leads on the establishment of a Multi-Stakeholder Forum under WP5. The Forum will facilitate the procedures to personalise INHERIT in each pilot by supporting the pilot's exchange, networking and training activities with final users/beneficiaries, admin users and core stakeholders from the civil society, education, cultural business and policy making.

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Section: Research Policy & Development

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Tags: climate resiliance, cultural heritage, energy efficiency, inclusiveness, innovation, sustainability

Type: Research

Program: HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02

Project Status: In progress

Start/End: 10/2023 - 03/2027

Project Duration: 42 months