The EN-SUGI project (Eranet Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative) was a joint effort between the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe and the Belmont Forum (BF), aimed at tackling the complex, interlinked challenges of the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus in urban areas globally.
The project brought together 24 Funding Agencies (FAs)—17 from Europe and 7 from outside the EU—to align research and innovation (R&I) agendas and foster global, transdisciplinary collaboration.
🎯 Main Objectives and Impact
The primary goal of EN-SUGI was to support the development of practical innovations and new collaborative research that allow urban areas to understand and address the challenges of the FEW Nexus.
| Objective | Target/Goal | Achieved Impact |
| Support Practical Innovations | Funding projects and engaging cities. | 15 projects funded, involving 135 partners from 20 nations across 6 continents; 15 cities/local authorities engaged. |
| Align R&I Agendas | Create a framework for JPI Urban Europe and the BF. | 24 funding organizations involved, resulting in a total budget of €28.5 million for the co-funded call. |
| Foster Global Relationships | Align R&I with strategic initiatives (e.g., EU Green Deal, UN-Habitat). | Established the global dimension of the Eranet, including the addition of the African Start Alliance to the project. |
💡 Key Activities and Results
The project’s work centered on the preparation, launch, and management of a joint, open call for research proposals on the Urban FEW Nexus.
1. Call Management and Selection
- Global Coordination: Achieved successful joint coordination of the call activities among 24 FAs, representing 20 nations.
- Selection Process: Applied well-proven procedures using a competitive, two-stage process with four reviewers from different fields.
- Results: 88 proposals were initially submitted; 40 were invited for Stage 2; and 15 transdisciplinary projects were ultimately funded.
- Incubator Workshops: Organized three workshops to foster co-creative and transdisciplinary project development.
2. Monitoring and Assessment
- Proactive Approach: Defined a proactive approach to monitoring and assessing innovation and impact delivery at both the program and project levels.
- Tools Developed: Defined the Terms of Reference evaluation and monitoring framework and the IAIID toolkit (Innovation and Impact Delivery).
3. Communication and Dissemination
- SUGI Connect Platform: Created the SUGI Connect platform to facilitate two-way communication among the funded projects and external stakeholders. This platform aims to encourage knowledge transfer and dissemination of results beyond the project teams’ own channels.
- Outreach: Created the SUGI website, a call promotion toolkit, and defined a joint communication and exploitation strategy.
🌎 Progress Beyond State-of-the-Art
The EN-SUGI project achieved significant progress by effectively creating a fully aligned, global research funding mechanism between European and international agencies on a major urban challenge. This established a precedent for transdisciplinary collaboration and co-creation on a continental scale, successfully bridging expertise across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
