Innovative Agri-food Chains: Unlocking the Potential

Deadline: 14 February 2017

European Commission is seeking proposals for the program entitled “Innovative agri-food chains: unlocking the potential for competitiveness and sustainability” with an aim to provide in-depth insight into linkages and interactions between agri-food chain stakeholders, including understanding of their perception and behaviour with respect to sustainability objectives and cooperation, potentially resulting in the design of new processes within the agro-food chains and thus leading to new business models and better performing value chains.

Funding Information: The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.

Expected Outcomes

The project results are expected to:

enhance the capacity of actors within agri-food chains to design new processes leading to new business models and more efficient, equitable, sustainable and better performing value chains;
enhance the innovation potential of the European agri-food chains in terms of adapting to change and increase their competitiveness, sustainability and resilience on European and international markets;
strengthen farmers’ position in value chains through innovative approaches that enhance transparency, information flow and management capacity; and
limit the negative impacts of agri-food chains on the environment, climate and health.

Eligibility Criteria

Research & innovation actions (RIA): At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other.
Innovation actions (IA): At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other.
Coordination & support actions (CSA): At least one legal entity established in an EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country.
SME instrument actions: At least one SME. Only applications from for-profit SMEs established in EU Member States or Horizon 2020 associated countries. No concurrent submission or implementation with another SME instrument phase 1 or phase 2 project.
ERA-NET Cofund actions: At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other. Participants in ERA-NET Cofund actions must be ‘research funders’, i.e. legal entities owning or managing public research and innovation programmes.
Pre-commercial procurement (PCP) & Public procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI) actions: At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other. Furthermore, there must be a minimum of two legal entities which are ‘public procurers’ from two different EU Member States or Horizon 2020 associated countries. Both legal entities must be independent of each other.
European Joint Programme (EJP) Co-fund actions: At least five legal entities. Each of the five must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All five legal entities must be independent of each other. Participants in EJP Cofund actions must be legal entities owning or mandated to manage national research and innovation programmes.
Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA): At least one legal entity established in an EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country.