FUNDACJA SENDZIMIRA

Their core work

Fundacja Sendzimira (Sendzimir Foundation) is a Polish research foundation focused on nature-based solutions for urban sustainability and climate adaptation. They specialize in translating ecological knowledge into practical urban planning tools — urban forests, green infrastructure, and ecosystem restoration approaches for cities. Their work bridges scientific research with citizen engagement and municipal decision-making, particularly in connecting European and Latin American urban resilience practices.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Fundacja Sendzimira entered H2020 in 2019 with a focus on ecological fundamentals — urban forests, green infrastructure, ecological connectivity, and ecosystem services mapping. By 2020-2021, their work shifted toward applied climate adaptation, citizen engagement, private sector involvement, and international knowledge exchange with Latin America. The trajectory shows movement from understanding urban ecosystems toward actively deploying adaptation tools and building cross-continental cooperation networks.

Moving toward user-facing climate adaptation services and international urban resilience cooperation, suggesting future projects will emphasize practical deployment over pure research.

How they like to work

Always a participant, never a coordinator — they contribute specialized knowledge rather than leading consortia. With 61 unique partners across 20 countries in just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~20 partners per project). This suggests they are a trusted thematic contributor that large consortia seek out for their urban ecology and engagement expertise.

Broad European network with 61 partners across 20 countries from only 3 projects, indicating participation in large multi-country consortia. Their INTERLACE involvement also extends connections to Latin American partners.

What sets them apart

As a Polish foundation bridging ecology and urban planning, they occupy a rare niche: bringing Central European perspective to nature-based solutions research dominated by Western institutions. Their combined expertise in ecological science, citizen engagement methods, and EU-Latin America cooperation makes them a versatile partner for urban resilience projects that need both scientific depth and community-facing implementation capacity.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CLEARING HOUSE
  Largest funding (EUR 176,750) and focused on the specific niche of urban trees and forests as green infrastructure — a distinctive specialization.
• INTERLACE
  Unusual EU-CELAC cooperation dimension connecting European and Latin American urban restoration practices, giving the foundation a global dimension.
• REACHOUT
  Most applied project — focused on delivering usable climate adaptation toolboxes directly to city practitioners and private sector users.