Seeking Consortium Partners | COMMUNITIES-01 – Rural Resilience, Participatory Governance & Territorial Living Labs

AICFD – Consortium Partnership Offer for HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-COMMUNITIES-01

Topic: Strengthening rural communities' resilience to shocks

AICFD – International Association for Disruptive and Frontier Science is a Spain-based organisation connecting scientific research, technological innovation and territorial development, with a focus on translating research outcomes into practical solutions for communities and local stakeholders.

We are seeking partners for HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-COMMUNITIES-01, particularly consortia addressing the capacity of rural communities to anticipate, adapt and respond to environmental, climatic, economic and social shocks.

What AICFD can contribute

• Territorial resilience and vulnerability assessment: Analysis of local socio-economic, demographic, environmental and institutional conditions, including vulnerabilities, adaptive capacities and barriers to resilience.

• Stakeholder engagement and community co-creation: Participatory needs assessment, stakeholder mapping and collaborative development of resilience strategies involving residents, businesses, public authorities and civil society.

• Participatory governance: Assessment and co-design of local governance mechanisms, coordination arrangements and inclusive decision-making processes.

• Living Labs and place-based approaches: Support for community-based experimentation, collaborative learning and validation of innovative approaches in rural territories.

• Socio-economic impact assessment: Development of indicators and assessment frameworks to understand the social, economic and institutional implications of proposed interventions.

• Knowledge transfer and replication: Capacity building, exchange of practices, policy recommendations and transferability assessment for different rural contexts.

Experience and territorial contribution

AICFD has territorial roots in Gúdar–Maestrazgo, Aragón (Spain), a Mediterranean rural and mountain context relevant to discussions on climate vulnerability, land management, demographic change and rural development.

The Masada Living Lab initiative provides a potential framework for engaging territorial actors and exploring integrated approaches involving agriculture, forestry, ecosystem management and rural livelihoods, subject to confirmation of the specific activities and local partnerships.

Through the Horizon Europe FOCAL project, AICFD also contributes to socio-economic and policy assessment and the integration of stakeholder perspectives into climate-related innovation.

Partners we are looking for

We are interested in working with rural development researchers, universities, municipalities, regional authorities, community organisations, socio-economic research teams, technology providers and Living Lab networks.

We are particularly interested in consortia that combine rigorous research with locally grounded interventions, inclusive governance and measurable improvements in rural communities' resilience.

Contact: fernanda.pereira@aicfd.org
Website: www.aicfd.org