Outreach Synergy Call
Use 3DBigDataSpace tools to design and develop engaging and innovative AR and web-based applications.
The 3DBigDataSpace project aims to prototype a Europe-wide stable and long-term storage of 3D cultural heritage assets and metadata from different providers and aggregators. By developing tools for augmentation and harmonisation, it is intended to enhance the findability, quality and re-use of 3D content for augmented reality viewers and 4D world applications. The project is funded by the European Union and carried out by twelve collaborating organisations.
The Time Machine Organisation (TMO) is the coordinator of the 3DBigDataSpace project. The TMO maintains and curates an international network of currently more than 150 projects and initiatives – Local Time Machine (LTM) projects – dealing with history and heritage in specific cities or regions. The TMO’s primary mission is to gather different groups to collect and refine digital information, making sure it stays relevant to evolving economic, social, cultural, and geographical factors. Therefore, it is planned to develop a space-time aggregator of historical information.
As part of its contribution to the 3DBigDataSpace project, the TMO is launching a series of calls within the Synergy Grants Programme. In this second call, two 3D outreach heritage projects will be selected to design and develop engaging and innovative applications that use 3DBigDataSpace tools for AR or web-based display. The goal is to reach out to a large number of people to disseminate the applications. Successful applicants will receive €10,000 each as well as technical guidance from TMO specialists throughout the development process.
Timeline
This call is the second one in a series of calls within the TMO Synergy Grants Programme. Further calls on digitisation training will be available in the next months.
Target Audience
This call is open to organisations dealing with 3D heritage digitisation and modelling such as:
The main applicant may also choose to collaborate with a project partner. This is optional but encouraged. The partner can be any organisation, for example a museum, tourism office, private company, or research institution.
For further details on the role and conditions of project partners, see the FAQ section.
Target content and expected outcomes
We are seeking two creative and innovative projects that demonstrate new ways of engaging the public with 3D cultural heritage content.
Applicants are invited to design an experience concept that uses at least one of the 3DBigDataSpace tools to present and interact with 3D assets:
See this document for detailed information on the tools, their capabilities and how they can be integrated into other platforms.
Proposals shall make use of the applicant’s own 3D assets and/or 3D assets available from the 3DBigDataSpace repository, which is continuously being extended in terms of content and functionality. The assets may cover any period, region, or scale – from single artifacts to complex architectural or urban scenes. Complementary media such as text, audio, or video can be used to enrich the experience.
At the application stage, participants are expected to submit a design proposal outlining their concept and approach for using the 3DBigDataSpace tools. Applicants may also propose to adapt an existing or preliminary 3D experience to integrate the tools from 3DBigDataSpace and meet the objectives of the call. If selected, applicants will then develop and deploy the proposed experience.
Possible application scenarios include, but are not limited to:
After development, the final application must be advertised and made available to the public, for example through exhibitions, museums, workshops, touristic activities, educational events, websites, or webinars. Presentations may use digital interfaces such as touchscreens, VR headsets, or tablets.
Emphasis is placed on engagement, accessibility, and visibility. Proposals should clearly explain how the experience will reach and involve the target users, specify the expected audience size and type, and describe how audience reach will be monitored and evaluated during the activity.
The results and findings of the implementation and dissemination activity must be internally and externally reported and presented.
Eligibility criteria
The applicant’s organisation must:
Obligations
Selected applicants must:
* The number of users reached includes both in-person and online audiences, measured for example by visitor counts, individual website visitors, or event participants. The applicant must design an appropriate strategy to record and demonstrate this impact.
Benefits
Selected applicants will:
** Note: Funding will be provided in several instalments, linked to the completion of specific project tasks.
Evaluation criteria
Submissions will be assessed based on the:
Application procedure
Applicants can participate by filling in the dedicated form (see button below). It is recommended to provide sufficient details in each relevant section. Only complete applications submitted through the form will be considered for evaluation.
Frequently asked questions
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Please find the questionnaire to be handed to the jury members here.
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Applicants may choose to collaborate with a project partner, though this is optional. Partnerships are encouraged, as digitisation projects often benefit from combining the expertise of different organisations, fostering synergies, networking, and knowledge exchange, goals supported by both the European Commission and the Time Machine Organisation (TMO).
The partner can be any other organisation, not necessarily registered as a local Time Machine. For example, if the applicant is from a university, potential partners could include a museum, tourism office, private company, or another research institution (see the call’s target audience for further ideas).
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No, the project partner needs to be another organisation. For example, if the applicant works at a university, the project partner may be a museum, tourism office, private company, or another research institution. There are more examples of organisations in the target audience of the call description, which apply also for potential project partners.
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The project partner may serve as a consultant/expert, may carry out a part of the expected work, may gain knowledge from the applicant (e.g. by workshops), may contribute in carrying out the outreach activities, may advertise the developed application or other parts the work (e.g. social media, newspaper), etc.
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There are no formal requirements at this stage. Feel free to indicate the anticipated tasks and benefits of the project partner in section ‘3. Project Management’ in the application form. In case the application is successful, a contract will be established where tasks will be defined and assigned to the applicant and project partner.
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The applicant plans and negotiates the distribution of the funding with the project partner. If the work is carried out at the applicant’s organisation and the project partner receives non-monetary benefits (see examples above), 100% of the funding can be assigned to the applicant. The funding can also be spread at a certain percentage between the applicant and the project partner.
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Yes, submissions about historical 3D assets anywhere on Earth are welcome, however, your institution needs to be based in the European Union or in an associated state to Horizon Europe.
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Yes. Switzerland has signed a transitional arrangement about the Horizon Package in April 2025 allowing a participation in calls.
Contact
If you have any other questions or inquiries regarding the call and application procedure, please send an email to ltm[at]timemachine.eu.
Please note that the Data Synergy call is now closed!
Data Synergy Grants
Open calls for 3D model holders.
In 3DBigDataSpace, data from 85 Local Time Machines—part of the Time Machine Organisation’s 140 regional projects—plays a key role. Several open calls are targeted towards 3D model holders and demo case providers. Selected cases contribute data to the storage and aggregation system, with all processes documented and shared via GitHub.
On behalf of the 3DBigDataSpace project, the Time Machine Organisation (TMO) invites applications from organisations to join this open call. Two selected 3D projects will each receive €10,000 for providing 3D assets and metadata for aggregation. Selected projects will benefit from professional processing, standardisation, and long-term preservation of their 3D assets—ensuring greater accessibility, visibility, and interoperability across the cultural heritage sector.
For further Information regarding the TMO Synergy Grant programme visit TMO Synergy Grants Programme | Time Machine Europe.