TheEuropeanInnovationPartnershipforAgriculturalproductivityandSustainability(EIP-AGRI)hasbeenlaunchedin2012tocontributetotheEuropeanUnion'sstrategy'Europe2020'forsmart,sustainableandinclusivegrowth.Thisstrategysetsthestrengtheningofresearchandinnovationasoneofitsfivemainobjectivesandsupportsanewinteractiveapproachtoinnovation:EuropeanInnovationPartnerships.
Havinganideaisonething,turningitintoaninnovationactionisanother.Differenttypesofavailablefundingsourcescanhelpgetanagriculturalinnovationprojectstarted,suchastheEuropeanRuralDevelopmentpolicyortheEU'sresearchandinnovationprogrammeformerlyHorizon2020andcurrentlyHorizonEurope.TheEIP-AGRIcontributestointegratingdifferentfundingstreamssothattheycontributetogethertoasamegoalandduplicateresults.
RuralDevelopmentsupportsinparticularOperationalGroupsandInnovationSupportServiceswithinacountryorregion.Horizonfundsmulti-actorprojectsandthematicnetworksinvolvingpartnersfromatleastthreeEUcountries.Otherpoliciesmayofferadditionalopportunities.
TheEIP-AGRIbringstogetherinnovationactors(farmers,advisers,researchers,businesses,NGOsandothers)inagricultureandforestry,atEUlevel.TogethertheyformanEU-wideEIPnetwork.EIPWithinthisnetwork,OperationalGroups,Multi-actorprojectsandThematicNetworksareallkeybuildingblocks.WhileOperationalGroupsarefundedundertheRuralDevelopmentProgrammes,Multi-ActorprojectsandThematicNetworksaresupportedbytheHorizonProgramme.EIP-AGRIOperationalGroupsareproject-basedandtackleacertain(practical)problemoropportunitywhichmayleadtoaninnovation.TheOperationalGroupapproachmakesthebestuseofdifferenttypesofknowledge(practical,scientific,technical,organisational,etc.)inaninteractiveway.AnOperationalGroupiscomposedofthosekeyactorsthatareinthebestpositiontorealisetheproject'sgoals,toshareimplementationexperiencesandtodisseminatetheoutcomesbroadly.OperationalGroupsarecurrentlybeingsetupinseveralEUcountriesandregions.
TheRuralNetworks'Assembly,whichwaslaunchedinJanuary2015,coordinatedtwonetworks-theEIP-AGRINetworkandtheEuropeanNetworkforRuralDevelopment(ENRD).TheAssemblyincludedseveralsubgroups,oneofthembeingthepermanentSubgrouponInnovationforagriculturalproductivityandsustainability.FromOctober2022,theSubgrouponInnovationandKnowledgeExchange(SoIKE)willstartitsactivitiesinthenewEUCAPNetwork.
TheEIP-AGRIwebsitehasexcitingandinteractivefeatures.Allvisitorscanvoicetheirresearchneeds,discoverfundingopportunitiesforinnovationprojectsandlookforpartnerstoconnectwith.
FuturefunctionalitieswillbedevelopedforOperationalGroupsandEuropeanfundsmanagingauthoritiesoncetheprogrammesstart.Throughthiscollaborativeeffort,theEIP-AGRIwebsitewillbecomeaone-stop-shopforagriculturalinnovationinEurope.
ThesuccessoftheEIPalsodependsonmembersoftheEIP-AGRINetworkhelpingtoexpandit,enrichitandmakeitwork.WehavethereforepreparedatoolkitwhichyoucaneasilyusetoshareinformationabouttheEIP-AGRIwithyourownnetwork.