GoGreenNEXT will deliver a comprehensive evidence-based policy oriented approach model to convey how ecosystem health and human health are connected. We propose to follow the pathway outlined foA complex array of interrelated problems arising from climate change and biodiversity loss pose significant health risks, both today and in the future . Future risks from climate change are currently predicted to escalate (beyond planetary boundaries) and pass critical tipping points with irreversible changes to our climate with commensurate negative impacts on health, our ecosystems and our landscapes . Global, European and national policy frameworks have emerged in recent years to address this challenge, with a range of initiatives to promote mitigation, adaptation and resilience. Nature-based solutions (NBS), or actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural and modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously benefiting people and nature, are among the strategies that have emerged to reverse the degradation of nature, notably in urban areas where changes are amplified. In cities, vulnerability to climate change and environmental degradation is high due to dense populations, critical infrastructure, and at-risk communities (e.g. vast differences across social-economic gradient). Cities offer an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of current solutions aligned with emerging strategies and policy initiatives (e.g. New European Bauhaus, 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities) combining to form what is termed a just green transition. This refers to a process of far-reaching sociotechnical change leading to a green and climate-neutral economy that preserves biodiversity and ensures social justice. GoGreenNext will address the biodiversity-climate-planetary health nexus, delivering positive policy and city/region pilot outcomes in 4 biogeographic regions across Europe and with input from best practice globally.

Climate-related health risks are escalating, as our expanding European population of older people are at high risk from recent unprecedented climate change and extreme weather events.The chAnGE Alliance of HEI, VET and Health & Social Care organisations [HSCOs] in Ireland, Portugal, Finland, Austria & Greece aims to:1. Co-create a suite of online microcredentials (MC), for HSC workers who plan/deliver care to older people, to give them knowledge, confidence & skills to plan/incorporate climate adaptation and resilience in their work 2. Empower HSC professionals as local climate adaptation leaders, champions and peer-trainers, to multiply impact 3. Foster relationships & knowledge co-creation between VET-HEI-HSCO through project activities, and targeted knowledge-exchange (KE) events4. Facilitate HEI & VET to modernise their learning offerings and support learners’ transition to HEI 5. Agree an EU-aligned framework for MC credit recognition/accumulation, for exploitation (for any topic or learner group), by HEI/VET across Europe. Project activities occur via four Work Packages (WPs) over 3 years:WP1: Project coordination/monitoringWP2: Preparation: Iterative content co-creation, digitalisation, piloting; MC credit certification WP3: Implementation (learning delivery), monitoring, evaluationWP4: Dissemination & exploitation Results & Outputs: The innovative education, delivered to 500-1000 HSC workers/professionals, and widely multiplied in HSCOs, will be novel (based on extensive needs/gap analyses), interactive, accessible, bite-sized, stackable, and co-created with target learners/older people, at EQF level 4-6. The curriculum & learning content (for the 15 linked MCs) and learning-amplification resources will be freely available for others to adapt/use, along with 3+ academic papers, and 3 reports, on MC credit recognition, sustainability, and the evaluation (learner’s feedback & support needs; usage & usability; learning effectiveness/impact).

Unsustainable agricultural practices are major drivers affecting habitat and species diversity in agricultural landscapes of the EU. However, peatland, grassland, and species associated with agriculture are of most concern. The ongoing negative impacts of unsustainable agricultural practices emphasize the need for a fully integrated approach between the EU 2030 Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies. Supporting the EC`s ambition of enhancing biodiversity of agricultural landscapes advanced systems are required to monitor biodiversity features and their changes over time and in space. Such biodiversity monitoring systems will support implementation of result-based policies in the European agricultural landscapes. The BioMonitor4CAP project will design advanced biodiversity monitoring systems mainly assessing diversity of targeted species and habitats to be tested, calibrated, and demonstrated in five European regions representing the major agro-ecological regions of the EU and one region in Peru representing one of the global biodiversity hot spots. The project will combine classical indicator systems that are part of the European monitoring framework (e.g. Farmland Bird Index) with various indicator systems mostly recently developed and applied in form of standalone systems: i) new indicator species (e.g. grasshopper), ii) genetic diversity (eDNA), iii) on-site sensors (e.g. wing beat frequency, acoustic sounds), iv) functional diversity (e.g. pollinators), and iv) various spatial measures. Supporting development and implementation of revised agricultural policies and ensuring rural development the project will involve among multiple stakeholder groups particularly farmers, conservationists, and service provides as the value and/or marketability of public and/or private goods delivered through maintained and enhanced biodiversity and related monitoring systems are hardly understood.

Composite materials are characterised by their unique smart capability of integrating nanomaterials and permanently installed sensing devices to enable accurate monitoring of the structural integrity. However, the full-scale industrial use of smart composites is hindered by the lack of wireless and easy-to-install embeddable sensors, automated and reliable data processing methods for damage diagnosis and prognosis in real-life operational conditions, accurate modelling tools, standardisation procedures, and trained operators. The ASSESS project aims to address all these issues and bridge the gap between research and industry by designing, manufacturing, and testing new-generation smart Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites through the research activities of 12 Doctoral Candidates (DCs). The ASSESS consortium will leverage multi-disciplinary collaborations between world-leading organisations in structural health monitoring, materials and computer science, aerospace and civil engineering to develop a novel research & training programme in Europe for the structural integrity of smart composites. Through extensive research, training events and secondments, DCs will embrace diverse emerging technologies, such as smart composites, advanced simulations, wireless sensors, artificial intelligence data-driven approaches and digital twins. These technologies will be key enablers towards Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things for the most strategic industries in Europe such as aviation, space, and wind energy, and support their future careers in these fields. Smart composites will empower safer, more lightweight, and structurally efficient composite aerospace components and wind turbine blades, which in turn will contribute to reduce material waste, aircraft fuel consumption, C02 emissions and enhance renewable wind energy production. Hence, ASSESS will play a pivotal role in the context of future European green energy and transportation.

European rural areas, face societal, demographic, economic and environmental pressures due to global transformations and crises. They are in need of a renewal by social innovation that increases their resilience and reduces the adverse effects on their socio-economic and environmental sustainability. Unbalanced development impacts their populations’ lively-hoods and well-being in general, but it affects the most those people who are already in precarious and fragile positions. SERIGO produces evidence-based theoretical and practicable knowledge on how the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) can support resilience, social inclusion, and ‘good life’ in European rural areas. Based on the research results produced, the aim is also to provide insights and recommendations on what framework conditions and policy arrangements are necessary to promote this, as well as to trigger constructive debates and collaborations around this issue involving diverse set of stakeholders in Europe. The project applies an intersectional perspective to vulnerability, as well as implements critical systems thinking in combination with community-based participatory research to investigate potentials of the social economy in promoting social inclusion and in enhancing the quality and accessibility of services in rural areas. Empirical data is gathered in a high number of qualitative case studies from 13 countries on social economy solutions implemented in local contexts. Using the multi-actor approach, SERIGO benefits from more nuanced and ’live’ insights into the drivers of social exclusion offered through the lenses of local stakeholders working together with researchers on co-created experimental pilots in five European regions. SERIGO ensures also with a system of deliberate feedback loops, dedicated multi-level policy workshops and a sustained thematic community of practice that the new knowledge generated is pertinent and applicable, and all its outputs have high exploitable potential.