Multi-Country project in Agri-Food -

Expected Outcome and Deliverables

• Capacity building: Proactive collaboration with stakeholders.
• Information exchange platform: A platform for sharing, primarily among participants, insights and data about infrastructure, tools, standards, and agreements related to the scope of this action, complementing related initiatives.
• Coordination roadmap: A comprehensive plan for preparing the implementation of the actions under this project and their contribution to the multi-country project, detailing the alignment of various initiatives, of actors participating in the action across different sectors and member states.
• Recommendations for the development, operation, and maintenance: Key foundational elements to roll-out the project towards countries not yet involved in the MCP and towards further segments of the agri-food sector.
• Assessment of ongoing initiatives: Stocktaking of ongoing initiatives at national and EU level relevant to the project and documentation of lessons learnt to tailor the approach towards the deployment action.
• Concept, technical specification, and set-up of digital infrastructure for the agri-food ecosystem.
• Use cases portfolio: A collection of cross-border use cases implemented by third parties that demonstrate cooperation and interoperability, including guidelines and standards for implementing such use cases more generally, in alignment with existing European initiatives and in compliance with applicable legislation. This deliverable should be prepared by the consortium with support from third-party beneficiaries. Those use cases might be implemented as preparation for the deployment action, the envisaged digital infrastructure project, or as subsequent action to capitalise the deployment action.
• Use case evaluation reports: Detailed assessments for each use case, including performance results, lessons learned, and recommendations for future projects. This deliverable should be prepared by third parties under the consortium's guidance.
• Deployment action: Implementation of the envisaged project in agri-food at multi-country/ EU level with sustainable structures for its maintenance and further development.
• Policy recommendations on the creation of favourable framing conditions for achieving MCP objectives and furthering the digital transformation of the sector, reducing administrative burden, and simplification.

Objective

The objective of this action is to support a Multi-Country Project (MCP) in the agri-food sector. The MCP in Agri-Food aims to leverage digital infrastructure, particularly data infrastructure, to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness of the agri-food sector across Europe. This action will, foster the access, sharing, and reuse of data to support decision-making, reduce administrative burdens, and enable innovative solutions within the sector.

In line with the European Data Strategy, the action should contribute to creating a fair, competitive, and innovative data economy. In line with Political Guidelines, it should support the digital transformation of the agri-food sector, making it smarter, more sustainable, and better adapted to the needs of its users, in line with the objectives to build a competitive and resilient agriculture and food system, aiming to support the sector’s sustainability and productivity The action is also expected to support the reduction of administrative burden in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-to government (B2G) data sharing, in particular in cross-border settings; and explore the potential for simplification. The awarded proposal will take into account existing data-sharing initiatives at European, national, and local levels. Especially, it will complement and accelerate the development and implementation of the Common European Agricultural Data Space (CEADS).

Scope

The awarded proposal should address the following activities:

• Provide operational support to create a sustainable collaboration framework among Member States and other stakeholders aimed at facilitating large-scale investments in digital and data infrastructure for agri-food projects with a multi-country focus.
• Support the exchange of information and take stock of available infrastructures, solutions, tools, agreements, and standards related to the scope of the action among participants, and coordinate across initiatives and projects in different countries and domains.
• Analyse gaps in existing agri-food data infrastructures and services, and propose measures to support the deployment, operation, and maintenance of data and service infrastructures.
• Develop and set-up digital infrastructure enabling agri-food data exchange, access, and analysis at the European level.
• Provide assistance, including financial support to third parties, for the development of cross-border use cases focusing on real-life applications based on agri-food data sharing and promote the sharing and reuse of best practices. These use cases should be implemented across several Member States; they should foster advanced technologies, including AI, and should follow a coherent approach, that ensures interoperability; indicative areas for use cases include the preparation of scaling of the multi-country project and/ or subsequent actions that support the objectives of the MCP.
• Support the implementation and deployment of a large-scale data-infrastructure with a multi-country or EU-level dimension to roll out data services in agri-food relevant for the public and private domains.

All activities under this project will require close collaboration and alignment with existing and evolving EU initiatives related to agri-food data, in particular:

• Common European Agricultural Data Space (CEADS)
• Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEF) for AI in agri-food
• Horizon Europe Partnership Agriculture of Data
• European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) and EDICs
• EU Digital Identity Wallet/eID

Duplication of existing initiatives should be avoided. Compliance with applicable EU legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Directive on open data and the re-use of public sector information, is required.

The awarded proposal is expected to achieve financial sustainability beyond the project's duration. The outcomes and deliverables of the project should be owned or usable by a lasting structure supporting the implementation of the MCP in the agri-food sector.

The active involvement of data providers and users in the public and private domains is highly recommended to ensure that the project’s outcomes are designed to meet their needs and to create a stronger sense of ownership.

To encourage the participation of diverse actors, the proposed project is encouraged to use financial support to third parties as part of the development, customisation, and integration of digital infrastructure for the agri-food ecosystem; and the implementation of cross-border use cases. More information on funding rates and rules for this type of action is available in Appendix 2 and Annex 5 of the model grant agreement.

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