Innoviris and NCP Brussels Info Day on 2025 DUT calls for Brussels stakeholders

DUT Partnership

The Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership builds upon the achievements of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe created in 2010. It addresses the global urban challenges with the ambition to develop a European research and innovation (R&I) hub on urban matters and create European solutions by means of coordinated research. Collaboration, problem-solving, concrete uptake (urban living labs, local experimentation…), replication, and mainstreaming are at the core of the DUT Partnership approach.

DUT challenges are grouped into three themes called Transition Pathways:

The 2025 calls will focus on the following topics:

– Positive Energy Districts (PEDs)

The 3 calls in this transition pathway are:

1. Driving a just transition: PED strategies in social and subsidised housing – read more
2. Ensuring positive socio-economic impact: PEDs in local economies and energy markets – read more
3. PEDs in urban heating and cooling strategies – read more

– 15-minute city (15mC)

The 3 calls in this transition pathway are:

1. Next steps for multimodal urban mobility, building on the travel experience – read more
2. Reimagining parking – transforming urban parking policies – read more
3. Mobility policymaking in context of radical contestation – read more

– The  circular urban economy (CUE)

The 3 calls in this transition pathway are:

1. Resilient green and social infrastructure – read more
2. Sustainable tourism – circular benefits and challenges – read more
3. Public procurement to foster urban greening and circularity – read more

Launch of the 2025 calls

On 8 September, NCP Brussels and Innoviris co-organised an Info Day on the 2025 calls of the DUT Partnership. This event targeted Brussels stakeholders: local authorities, research organisations / universities, private companies, and civil society organisations.

During this event, Kourosch Abbaspour Tehrani, Scientific Director at Innoviris presented the DUT Partnership itself , the 2025 calls and the specificities for Brussels candidates. Gaëlle Hubert, Scientific Advisor at Innoviris, presented the support provided by Innoviris to prospective candidates. On the side of NCP Brussels, Camille Dehestru (NCP Cluster 5, Cluster 6 and DUT) presented the Horizon Europe structure, and the support provided by NCP Brussels to the candidates. A very interesting testimonial closed the session: Karen Brabant and Dries Couckuyt (Odisee) shared their experience, advice and best practices on the SmartAge project (DUT call 2023).

What else do I need to know?

When will the calls open? The calls were be officially launched on 1st September 2025. The Stage 1 deadline will be on 17 November 2025, and the Stage 2 deadline on 23 April 2026.

Who can apply? Research organisations, companies and commercial organisations, urban government authorities, consumers and civil society representatives and actors from the culture and creative sectors, from one of the participating countries. Within the Brussels Capital Region, the call is open to all public and private organisations based in Brussels (research organisations, universities, businesses, associations, NGOs, public authorities, etc.) carrying out R&D activities in Brussels.

Are Belgian / Brussels entities eligible? Belgium is among the participating countries. Innoviris is the regional authorities of reference for Brussels-based entities. Other participating countries are listed here.

Do I need to form a consortium? Yes, a project must have at least three partners from three different countries and include a municipality or local authority.

Which types of projects will be funded? 3-year research and innovation projects that focus on urban areas, in the context of achieving climate neutral and resilient cities. The call welcomes a wide range of scientific disciplines such as strategic urban research, applied urban research and urban innovation.

Which budget is available? There are no fixed minimum or maximum limits for a project size. Most projects are expected to have a total budget request of around €1–2 million. The indicative budget per Brussels partner within a consortium is €300,000 (but can be more/less depending on the project and the partner’s role in it).

Support and information

As a reminder, the role of Innoviris in the framework of the DUT is the following:

• Launch the calls (with EU partners)
• Supervise the (regional) eligibility check
• Manage the funding of the R&I (e.g. DUT) projects: agreements, annual committees, budget, scientific reporting …
• Contribute to/ensure the valorization of the projects

In a complementary fashion, the role of NCP Brussels under the DUT is the following:

• Helping Brussels candidates identify the best call for your project
• Support partner search
• Provide tips and tricks in the proposal preparation
• Proofreading of the proposals once finalized.

For more information:

• DUT page on the 2025 calls: https://dutpartnership.eu/calls/dut-call-2025 
• Register to the 2025 Matchmaking platform here: https://www.b2match.com/e/dut-call-2025 
• Innoviris DUT web-page: webpage https://www.innoviris.brussels/program/driving-urban-transitions-sustainable-future-dut
• NCP Brussels website: https://ncp.brussels/

Are you a legal entity based in the Brussels Capital Region and interested in the DUT? We are here to help you! Get in touch with us:

At Innoviris, contact:

• Gaëlle Hubert, Scientific advisor for the European programs ghubert@innoviris.brussels
• Kourosch Abbaspour Tehrani, Scientific Director katehrani@innoviris.brussels

At NCP Brussels, contact :

• Camille Dehestru for circular urban economy and 15-minute city topics –> cdehestru@hub.brussels
• Sabrina Bijlsma for positive energy district topics –> sbijlsma@hub.brussels

General questions: DUT Call Secretariat: call@dutpartnership.eu