Support for a multilateral initiative on climate change and health research

Expected Outcome

This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing to one or several expected impacts of destination “Living and working in a health-promoting environment”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim to deliver results that are directed at, tailored towards and contributing to most of the following expected outcomes:

• An international multilateral initiative is established to facilitate coordination and synergy between different research and innovation funding organisations tackling climate change and health issues with adequate support of a secretariat that works towards the definition of a governance model and forward-looking plan for the implementation of this initiative.
• The international community of research funders working in the climate-health nexus is well connected and supported to improve coordination of activities and alignment of priorities and increase the collective impact of funding streams.
• The research community, civil society groups and policymakers working in the climate-health nexus are well informed about the initiative’s activities and benefit from the knowledge, tools and opportunities created during its implementation.

Scope

Climate-related health challenges are global and complex in nature, which calls for coordinated action bringing together different research disciplines, policy sectors, perspectives and approaches. This requires seamless communication and synergies between different Research and Innovation (R&I) funding instruments.

R&I is key to increasing our understanding of existing and emerging climate-related vulnerabilities experienced by populations and health systems alike, as well as to supporting the development and implementation of effective and sustainable interventions for prevention, adaptation and preparedness against climate-related health threats. They also play a crucial role in supporting the health sector’s transition towards decarbonisation and long-term sustainability while ensuring that quality of care is maintained or improved.

R&I funding schemes and programmes will structure and accelerate the health response needed to meet the severity of the climate crisis in the decades to come. Achieving this requires building on a truly collaborative and impactful network of key players that optimally and efficiently structure and align their research programmes and funding streams.

The Commission, in collaboration with other funders and international organisations, will work on the development of a collaborative interface that brings together research funders from around the world working at the intersection of health and climate. This platform will establish opportunities for participating organisations to discuss challenges and priorities and share best practices, research strategies and implementation plans. The platform will also serve to identify areas of common interest for collaboration and to build a shared vision to support health and climate research globally.

Proposals under this topic should focus on the provision of administrative and technical support to the successful establishment and implementation of a multilateral initiative of research and innovation funders working in climate change and health.

More specifically, proposals are expected to focus on all the following activities:

• Build on the preparatory work done and further support exchanges between relevant parties to delineate the operational structure and governance model of the multilateral initiative, in close collaboration with the European Commission.
• Facilitate and support the drafting of the workplan for the first period of activities of the multilateral initiative.
• Provide administrative and organisational support to the board of the multilateral initiative, in close collaboration with the chairs of the initiative.
• Provide scientific and technical support in aspects relevant to the development and implementation of the multilateral initiative.
• Facilitate communication between members of the initiative as well as with external stakeholders and organisations, and support the organisation of necessary meetings and the preparation of supporting material.
• Support external communication activities such as the creation of a website, newsletters, social media outreach and any other relevant communication and dissemination materials to promote the multilateral initiative.