SD-WISHEES: Innovation Pathways for Uptake of Research and Innovation in Heritage Resilience

Enhancing the resilience of cultural and natural heritage to climate change and natural hazards requires not only innovative research, but also effective pathways for the uptake, scaling, and long-term use of research and innovation (R&I) outcomes. Despite advances in risk assessment, decision-support tools, and participatory methods, many results remain underutilised beyond project lifetimes. Addressing this gap is critical for translating knowledge into tangible resilience benefits for diverse heritage contexts.

This presentation introduces the SD-WISHEES project, which develops and applies an innovation pathway framework to analyse how R&I outputs related to cultural and natural heritage risk and resilience are progressing from knowledge generation to practical uptake across Europe, Africa, and the Balkans. The framework adopts a transdisciplinary perspective, integrating insights from climate risk management, heritage studies, governance research, and social sciences to systematically identify the enablers and barriers influencing dissemination, exploitation, and scaling.

Some innovation pathways examined by SD-WISHEES were those used by projects that produced digital tools, modelling approaches, and decision-support systems to support heritage management, while others address capacity-building, stakeholder engagement, and governance strategies. The SD WISHEES project focuses on heritage threatened by hydroclimatic extremes such as flooding and storms, and encompasses cultural heritage (tangible and intangible) and natural heritage, including landscapes and urban heritage.

Central to SD-WISHEES is a co-creation approach that actively engages a wide range of stakeholders, including heritage managers, policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and end users. Through interactive workshops, targeted questionnaires, and participatory exchanges, the project explored challenges and opportunities related to: (i) dissemination and exploitation of tools, methods, and guidelines; (ii) capacity-building and training initiatives; (iii) stakeholder engagement and user ownership; and (iv) governance, policy, and funding mechanisms shaping innovation uptake.

The presentation will share findings and actionable recommendations emerging from this process, highlighting cross-cutting patterns that influence innovation pathways in different geographic and institutional contexts. Showcasing these results and collecting feedback from the audience aim to further validate and refine these recommendations, strengthening their relevance and transferability. By focusing on means of enhancing knowledge co-production, governance alignment, digital innovation, and scaling, SD-WISHEES intends to contribute to advancing inclusive, evidence-based strategies for cultural heritage resilience and sustainability in a changing climate.