25 November 2015 News

Horizon 2020: Info week on Societal Challenge 2 work programme 2016-2017

On Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November 2015, AREPO participated in the initiatives organised by the European Commission on the occasion of Horizon 2020 Info week on Societal Challenge 2.

The workshop “Interactive innovation in motion” aimed at sharing the first experiences of multi-actor approach and thematic networks projects, to serve as inspiration for future projects. Based on the feedback from these experiences and the first round of selections, the Commission has complemented and clarified its definition of multi-actor approach and thematic networks.

The emphasis for multi-actor projects is on the project’s impact, on the complementarity of different types of knowledge (scientific and practical) that should be reflected in the composition of the consortium all along with the project and on flow and knowledge exchange. The applicants need to demonstrate that the project’s objectives and planning are targeted to the needs, problems and opportunities of end-users. The results of the projects should be complementary with existing research, but they should create a real added value and should be translated into substantial easily understandable practical knowledge for broad dissemination in the common EIP format.

On the other hand, thematic networks aim at compiling knowledge ready for practice. Thematic networks should involve all actors relevant to the chosen theme in order to provide a comprehensive description of the state of the art. The partners should summarise, share and present existing scientific knowledge and best practices that are not sufficiently known and applied by practitioners, focusing on the most urgent needs of agricultural and forestry production sectors.

For more information, after the event, the European Commission will publish all video recordings, minutes and background material on the workshop webpage.  

Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2 Info Day

During this event, the Commission provided an overview of the new funding opportunities available under the Societal Challenge 2 (SC2) 2016 calls: ‘Sustainable Food Security, ‘Blue Growth’, ‘Rural Renaissance’ and ‘Bio-based innovation’.

The morning session focused on the research priorities of the new Work Programme and gave an update on practical aspects of proposals’ submission and evaluation. The afternoon session was divided into parallel sessions organised by call and topic, during which key aspects of the new topics have been presented.

For more information consult the webpage of the Info Day.

Find out more on topics and opportunities for 2016 consulting the EIP-AGRI brochure on “Funding opportunities under Horizon 2020 – Calls 2016”.