JPI Urban Europe

What JPI Urban Europe does

JPI Urban Europe is a Joint Programming Initiative established in 2010 that coordinates transnational research and innovation on urban transitions across European member and associated countries. It is not a commercial product company; its function is to align national research programmes, issue joint transnational calls, and channel co-funding from participating funding agencies and the European Commission to multi-country research consortia. Its primary counterparties are European national funding agencies and ministries, the academic and research community, cities and urban administrations acting as end-users and co-creators, and EU/national policymakers.

The initiative operates a portfolio of interconnected offerings: a Knowledge Hub hosting SRIA documents, project results catalogues (ENUAC, ENSUF, SUGI, ENSCC, Making Cities Work), and policy recommendations; the Urban Lunch Talks webinar series (40+ episodes since 2018 reaching 45+ countries); the Agora stakeholder involvement platform; the Positive Energy Districts (PED) thematic initiative; the Online Project Monitoring Tool; and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA 2.0 covering 2020-2026). Notable project-funded outputs include the Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS, which uses machine learning to model food-water-energy nexus interactions), a Citizen Science Toolbox and app built on the wq Framework, GIS-based StoryMaps, and the Atlas of Industry and Industrial Towns. Since 2022, the Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) partnership within Horizon Europe extends the initiative's mandate, issuing its own calls and stakeholder consultations.

JPI Urban Europe's revenue model is non-commercial. Operating funds flow from national agency contributions of participating countries and from EU framework mechanisms (Horizon Europe via DUT, ERA-NET Cofund actions for ENUAC, ENUTC, ENSUF, ENSCC). The secretariat is hosted by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) in Vienna. Governance rests on a Governing Board (currently chaired by Inger Gustafsson of Vinnova, Sweden), a Management Board, and a Scientific Advisory Board, with strategic leadership provided by Margit Noll as CEO of DUT and former Chair of the JPI Urban Europe Management Board.

Name

JPI Urban Europe

Legal name

JPI Urban Europe

Website

https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

JPI Urban Europe is a Joint Programming Initiative, established in 2010 and hosted in Vienna, that coordinates transnational urban research and innovation across European member and associated countries by aligning national funding agencies, researchers, cities, and policymakers around shared strategic agendas and joint calls.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Coordination Services

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (92512), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD), Urban Renewal, Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reuse (BPAIANAI)

Keywords

• Urban research coordination
• Transnational research funding
• Sustainable urban transitions
• European research programs
• Urban innovation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Atzgersdorf

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Funding Coordination (Non-Commercial): JPI Urban Europe is a Joint Programming Initiative — a coordination and co-funding mechanism for European research and innovation on urban transitions. It does not generate commercial revenue. National funding agencies (from member and associated countries) contribute to jointly funded transnational calls. JPI Urban Europe coordinates the strategic agenda and programme but funds flow through national agencies to research consortia. The initiative's activities (calls, events, knowledge sharing, project monitoring) are supported by contributions from participating funding agencies and European frameworks such as Horizon Europe (via the DUT partnership).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

JPI Urban Europe is a European joint programming initiative that coordinates transnational research and innovation funding on urban sustainability transitions. It aligns national funding agencies, researchers, and city stakeholders around a shared Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), issues competitive transnational calls for research proposals (including ERA-NET Cofund calls), and facilitates knowledge exchange through stakeholder platforms, webinar series, and policy recommendations.

Product overview

JPI Urban Europe is a joint programming initiative that serves as a coordination and funding mechanism for urban research and innovation across Europe. Rather than a single unified product, it operates as a programme of interconnected offerings: the core Knowledge Hub provides access to research outcomes and policy guidance; Urban Lunch Talks delivers a webinar series on urban dilemmas; The Agora serves as a stakeholder engagement platform; Positive Energy Districts (PED) focuses on climate-neutral urban development; and the DUT Partnership within Horizon Europe drives collaborative urban transitions research. The initiative also maintains an Online Project Monitoring Tool for tracking funded projects and publishes the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) to guide programme priorities. These offerings work together to create an ecosystem for sustainable urban development research and innovation coordination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• JPI Urban Europe Knowledge Hub A central knowledge hub for urban transitions research and innovation, providing access to project results, policy recommendations, and publications from JPI Urban Europe's funded research initiatives. It is targeted at researchers, city practitioners, policymakers, and funding agencies.
• Urban Lunch Talks Webinar Series A webinar series focused on handling urban dilemmas, attracting innovators, practitioners, and researchers from over 45 countries and six continents since 2018. Episodes cover topics such as 15-minute cities, positive energy districts, urban greening, circularity, gender perspectives in planning, and mobility.
• The Agora Stakeholder Involvement Platform A dedicated stakeholder involvement platform providing a space for urban stakeholders to meet, discuss priorities, and work together on the most pressing urban challenges of today and the future through thematic dialogues, strategic consultations, and co-design activities.
• Positive Energy Districts (PED) Initiative An initiative focused on developing positive energy districts and neighbourhoods for climate neutrality in European cities, supported by dedicated calls (PED call and PED pilot call).
• Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership A partnership within the Horizon Europe framework that started in 2022, tackling urban challenges through collaborative research and innovation, with its own calls (DUT Call 2023, DUT Call 2024), website, newsletter, and stakeholder community.
• Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ research and innovation projects funded across Europe
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DUT (Driving Urban Transitions) PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022DUT is the successor partnership to JPI Urban Europe under the Horizon Europe framework, beginning in 2022. It steps up the game to tackle urban challenges and continues the work of JPI Urban Europe within the EU's research and innovation funding programme. DUT issues its own calls (e.g., DUT Call 2023, DUT Call 2024) and maintains its own website, newsletter, and stakeholder community. JPI Urban Europe content is integrated into the DUT ecosystem.
• Belmont ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Belmont Forum is a partnership of funding organisations focused on global environmental research. JPI Urban Europe co-established the Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative (SUGI)/Food-Water-Energy Nexus call with the Belmont Forum, bringing together fragmented research and expertise across the globe to address the FWE nexus challenge. This was a joint Belmont Forum and JPI Urban Europe initiative.
• Mission InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission Innovation is a global clean energy initiative bringing together alliances between countries, corporations, investors, and research institutes to accelerate net-zero innovation. JPI Urban Europe is associated with the Urban Transitions Mission under Mission Innovation, linking European urban research to global clean energy innovation efforts.
• National Research Funding Agencies (Member Countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational funding agencies, innovation agencies, and ministries from EU Member and Associated Countries participate in JPI Urban Europe's joint calls and governance. These include agencies such as Vinnova (Sweden), Formas (Sweden), SWEA (Sweden), FFG (Austria), and others. They contribute to call co-funding, align national priorities with the SRIA, and participate in Governing Board and Management Board structures.
• ERA-NET Cofund Mechanism (European Commission)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPI Urban Europe has successfully applied for and operated multiple ERA-NET Cofund actions (ENUAC, ENUTC, ENSUF, ENSCC) co-funded by the European Commission. The ERA-NET Cofund mechanism allows joint calls to receive EU top-up funding, enabling larger transnational research collaborations.
• China (NSFC – National Natural Science Foundation of China)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPI Urban Europe has collaborated with China through joint calls (e.g., Sino-European ENUAC call) and workshops. An editorial in Science Magazine by Manfred Horvat covered the NSFC and JPI Urban Europe joint pilot call. A joint report China-EU Sustainable Development Research Group was also produced. Collaboration extends to the DUT partnership.
• Urban Living Labs (ULL) NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple JPI Urban Europe projects (CRUNCH, Creating Interfaces, GUST, and others) employ the Urban Living Lab methodology, creating a network of city-based experimental spaces across Europe and beyond. Cities such as Uppsala, Eindhoven, Gdansk, Southend-on-Sea, Miami, Slupsk, Tulcea, and Wilmington host ULLs.
• EU Urban Agenda and UN-Habitat New Urban AgendacoreOthersJPI Urban Europe plays an important and distinct role in the implementation of the EU Urban Agenda and the UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda, as well as the global sustainability goals (SDGs). The initiative explicitly positions itself as supporting the implementation of these policy frameworks through research and innovation.
• Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPI Urban Europe has a Scientific Advisory Board that provides strategic guidance. The SAB has produced publications such as 'New Urban Transitions Towards Sustainability – Addressing SDG Challenges', contributing research and implementation tasks from the scientific community's perspective.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UERA - Urban Europe Research Alliance: European alliance of urban research institutes linked to the JPI Urban Europe network. Direct peer collaboration network operating in the same research and city-engagement space, providing joint-voice influence on EU urban research priorities.
• JPI Water (Water JPI): Sister Joint Programming Initiative coordinating European research on water systems. Closest analog in the JPI family to JPI Urban Europe in governance structure, ERA-NET usage, and stakeholder composition.
• EIT Urban Mobility: EU-backed public-private partnership under Horizon Europe's EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, funding urban mobility innovation and supporting city pilots across Europe. Highly comparable in mission (urban transitions, city engagement) and EU-cofunded programme structure.
• URBACT: EU's programme for integrated sustainable urban development, enabling city networks to co-design and exchange urban policy practice. Comparable in target audience (cities, urban practitioners), EU funding source, and transnational coordination remit.
• JPI Climate: One of the ten Joint Programming Initiatives in Europe, JPI Climate coordinates transnational research on climate adaptation/mitigation. Directly analogous coordination/governance model to JPI Urban Europe and an obvious comparator in the same JPI ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability: Global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Overlaps with JPI Urban Europe in serving city stakeholders and producing toolkits, guidance, and city-focused resources for sustainability transitions.
• UN-Habitat: United Nations agency for sustainable urbanization, working on urban policies, knowledge, and capacity-building globally. Overlaps with JPI Urban Europe on policy-recommendation outputs, SDGs, and New Urban Agenda implementation.
• EUROCITIES: Network of more than 200 large European cities influencing EU urban policy and the Urban Agenda. Overlaps as a comparator for stakeholder engagement with city administrations, the same target group JPI Urban Europe serves via its Agora and Urban Living Labs.
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: Global network of mayors of the world's leading cities taking action on climate change with significant research, knowledge, and city-pilot programmes. Comparable stakeholder base (city governments) and overlap on climate-neutral urban transitions research dissemination.

Others

• Belmont Forum: Global partnership of funding agencies supporting environmental change research, which co-launched the SUGI/Food-Water-Energy Nexus call with JPI Urban Europe. Functions as a strategic partner and adjacent peer in funding-agency coordination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/results?search_query=jpi+urban+europe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jpiurbaneurope
• Xx.com/JPIUrbanEurope

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about JPI Urban Europe