ISMED-CLIM

Project overview

Resilience Guard GmbH is part of a Mediterranean-wide initiative aiming to protect public health from the increasing threats of climate change. By mobilizing regional stakeholders, citizens, and health professionals, the project implements, evaluates, and scales evidence-based adaptation solutions to mitigate climate-sensitive health effects. ISMED-CLIM focuses on both non-communicable diseases and vector-borne infections—conditions projected to worsen in the face of rising temperatures, air pollution, and changing ecosystems across the Mediterranean.

We will lead two key tasks within the project: one focused on market analysis, business modelling, and exploitation of project outcomes; and the other on quality assurance and risk management. Our responsibilities include identifying practical applications for the project’s results, developing a sustainability and exploitation strategy, implementing quality assurance procedures, and designing a comprehensive quality plan. Additionally, we will monitor risks and provide overarching support to ensure the project’s smooth execution and the successful delivery of its outcomes.

Funding

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No 101156653.

Project description

The 48-month ISMED-CLIM research project, “Innovative Solutions across the Mediterranean for mitigation of Climate change-related health rIsks and enhancing health system resilience”, was launched in November 2024. It focuses on implementing feasible, user-accepted, and effective adaptation strategies to mitigate the health impacts of climate change across the Mediterranean region. The project aims to engage and mobilize regional stakeholders to act, while generating deeper understanding of climate change effects on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and vector-borne infections in representative Mediterranean EU countries.

To meet these goals, ISMED-CLIM will test public health interventions that integrate advanced technologies, digital media, and community engagement to reduce personal exposure to climate-related hazards such as extreme heat and air pollution. It will also evaluate the feasibility and user acceptance of an early warning and risk prediction system tailored to high-risk professionals facing vector-borne threats, such as sand flies.

Using open, participatory, and co-creative methodologies, the project will adapt and refine existing tools to strengthen the capacity of health systems to deliver effective care under climate pressure. Demonstration activities will be carried out in eight pilot sites, with ten replications in six additional locations across Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Insights from epidemiological, environmental, and health data will feed into a dynamic knowledge portal and an action-oriented policy dashboard—enabling evidence-based decision-making by policymakers, healthcare professionals, and communities. Ultimately, ISMED-CLIM’s solutions will be scalable and transferable to other European regions facing climate-related health challenges, such as wildfires, floods, ozone pollution, and cold spells.

Project goals

• Engage and mobilize regional policymakers, social stakeholders, and citizens across the Mediterranean to implement climate adaptation solutions targeting health risks.
• Advance knowledge on how climate change impacts non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and vector-borne infections in Mediterranean countries.
• Evaluate and enhance interventions aimed at reducing personal exposure to climate-sensitive stressors (e.g. heat and air pollution), particularly for vulnerable population groups.
• Develop and test a regional early warning and risk prediction tool to protect high-risk professionals from vector-borne diseases, particularly those transmitted by sand flies.
• Apply participatory, co-creative methodologies to adapt and refine existing evidence-based tools to local contexts, strengthening the resilience of regional healthcare systems.
• Demonstrate and replicate intervention strategies at: 8 initial pilot sites and 10 replication sites across 6 locations in 5 EU countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal).
• Integrate data and insights from epidemiology, forecasting, and health exposure studies into a knowledge portal and decision-support dashboard for stakeholders.
• Develop policy, action, and decision-oriented tools to support the replication and scalability of successful solutions in other European regions facing climate-related health challenges.

Our input

Resilience Guard GmbH (RG) plays a key role in ensuring the long-term success and usability of ISMED-CLIM solutions by leading:

• Conduct market analysis, define the business models, and monitor exploitation activities
• Quality assurance, overseeing the effectiveness and integrity of project activities
• Develop the Quality Assurance & Risk Management Plan, establish monitoring mechanisms, and provide support to partners
• Support partners in innovation and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) management
• Participate with all partners in dissemination and communication (D&C) activities
• Support the organization of workshops, brainstorming sessions, and targeted surveys to identify levers and mechanisms of change that foster climate resilience in local communities
• Support the development of training materials and implementation of training/capacity-building activities
• Support the health impact assessment modelling and implementation across Living Lab (LL) sites
• Support the performance of a Socioeconomic Impact Assessment study, including a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for the proposed solutions
• Support the definition of recommendations to be tested in each LL
• Support user needs, scenario development, and requirements analysis

Find out more

More detailed information and updates regarding the ISMED-CLIM project are available on the project’s official website:  https://ismed-clim.eu/

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