At Sussex, we support a diverse and multidisciplinary research environment where researchers can truly believe a challenge is only impossible until it’s done. For over 60 years, our courses, research, culture, and campus have aimed to stimulate, excite and challenge. So, Sussex innovates and takes the lead from scientific discovery to global policy, from student welfare to career development. And today, in every part of society and across the world, you will find someone from Sussex making an original and valuable contribution. Sussex research has produced three Nobel Prize winners, developed radical theories, and created important innovations. It has extensively impacted business, government, the third sector, health and culture. Many Sussex research projects and findings also create specific benefits for businesses, public sector organisations, charities, and cultural organisations, as our discoveries generate new products, services, and transferable knowledge. These achievements are grounded in our research's fundamental originality, significance and rigour. Our ten schools of studies, Doctoral schools and research groups form the academic heart of Sussex:
- Business school
- Education and Social work
- Engineering and informatics
- Global Studies
- Law, Politics and Sociology
- Life sciences
- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
- Media, Arts and Humanities
- Psychology
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School
- Doctoral School and Research groups
- Summer school.
At last, we believe in and promote cooperation among subjects and individuals and have an interdisciplinary approach to studying and driving forward development in research and teaching.
The University of Vigo is a young and dynamic Spanish institution founded in 1990 that offers a wide range of training in the three specialised and innovative campuses that compose it. It is present in Ourense, Pontevedra, and Vigo municipalities, with three specialised campuses with more than 30 centres for training and research. The university also led the Campus of International Excellence "Campus do Mar", with more than 3,000 researchers, forming a cross-border network of research and knowledge with the sea as a driving force.
The University of Vigo has been built on deep positive values based on transparency, good management, integration, equality, diversity, and environmental respect. The university is focused on specialisation and quality research and, as an institution committed to the social and economic environment, the transfer of knowledge to society is fundamental for this entity, in which an effort is made to ensure that research is continually reflected in social development. In 2020, there were 25 active Horizon Europe projects, 29 INTERREG projects, and 7 from other European calls.
LGI is an independent SME headquartered in Paris and present in France, Belgium and Spain. Active in more than 20 countries, the institution has built lasting relationships with 500+ partners worldwide. The team of approx. 30 is multidisciplinary (PhDs & engineering, business, legal & financial, IT, political science, communication & design), international (10 working languages), gender-balanced, and most importantly, passionate about innovation and sustainability. The main sectors of expertise include Environment & Climate, Low Carbon Energies, and Smart & Sustainable Territories. LGI has always been involved in collaborative R&D projects, participating in more than 65 EU-funded collaborative research & innovation projects. LGI has coordinated several of these projects and regularly leads work packages dealing with the company’s areas of expertise such as innovation management, market, exploitation, economic analyses, technology assessment, and public engagement. LGI is also involved in several European innovation clusters and French sectorial networks.
CREA is the leading Italian research organisation dedicated to agri-food supply chains, operating as a legal entity under public law and supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (Masaf). Its scientific activity covers agricultural crops, livestock, fishery, forestry, agro-industry, food science – and socio-economics. CREA was established in 2015, from the merging of CRA (Council for Agricultural Research) and INEA (National Institute of Agricultural Economics), two country-wide institutions active since mid of last century”.
The institution's know-how ranges from genetics and physiology to mechanics and robotics; from innovative techniques for the management of sustainable productions, including practices to improve soil fertility and plant protection, to silviculture under natural and cultivated ecosystems and livestock farming; from agro-food industry processes to the nutritional properties of foods and dietary aspects. Consumer protection, education and waste reduction are top priorities in all their activities.
With over 2000 employees, half of whom are researchers and technologists, the institution possesses several farms and experimental fields to carry out studies in the same conditions farmers operate under, enabling the validation of results and verification of their feasibility.
In 2015, we became CREA, the former Council for Agricultural Research – CRA, a country-wide institution. The new organisation foresees 12 research centres (6 related to specific supply chains and 6 dedicated to horizontal topics), forming a capillary network of structures throughout the country. The reform of the Institution has allowed for rationalising financial and personnel resources, forming the critical mass needed to deliver cutting-edge research results.
Thünen-Institute (TI) is a research centre that establishes scientific basics and provides scientifically based support for political decision-makers on a broad range of topics in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. The economic, ecological and technological competencies qualify TI to address complex scientific questions. TI was founded in 2008 under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) is an independent scientific research institute of Flanders’ Government. It performs multidisciplinary, innovative and independent research aiming at an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture and fisheries in a from-farm-to-fork approach. It accumulates fundamental and applied knowledge for improving products and production methods for quality control and the safety of end products and for the amelioration of policy instruments as a foundation for sector development and agricultural policy. For this, it collaborates closely with its stakeholders, including Belgian and international universities, research institutions, policymakers, private companies, governmental and non-governmental bodies, farmers' associations, etc. ILVO has fully equipped analysis labs, among which BELAC accredited labs (EN ISO/IEC 17025), for the determination of crop properties (both chemical and NIRs), chemical properties of mineral soils and for the detection and identification of plant diseases and pests in particular or soil-organisms in general. The ILVO-farm contains 200 hectares of fields for experimental field trials and is equipped with a full-scale open-air compost site. Dedicated equipment for on-farm composting and soil and fertiliser management are available. The ILVO Genomics Platform with its servers can be used for the analysis of molecular data and to develop decision support tools and models to study the socioeconomic, environmental and political impacts of new agricultural management. ‘Plant & Soil Living Lab’ is also another platform at ILVO for open innovation and co-creation to facilitate collaboration between actors from the agrifood and the ornamental plant sectors and to use the knowledge present in all parties for effective innovation. One of ILVO’s research topics is retrieving and analysing various soil-related biotic and abiotic data to monitor soil health, including, and specifically in service for this project, nematode communities using a DNA-based method (DNA-metabarcoding).
June Communications is a marketing and communications agency that started its activity in 2018 in the startup segment, later developing its service palette for SMEs and corporate companies from various industries at the national and international levels. The agency has an extensive background in the agricultural sector, collaborating with multiple companies in this field, from regenerative agriculture and carbon certification projects to agriculture insurance and financing services for agribusinesses.
June Communications is dedicated to fostering a global understanding of sustainability and advocating for the incorporation of sustainable practices into everyday life. The agency actively participates in Horizon Europe projects, playing a pivotal role in two initiatives, InBestSoil and BIOservicES.
The Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) is a national centre of excellence for climate change research. It was established in 2005 and became a foundation in 2015. It draws on the extensive research expertise of its eight partner members: National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, University of Salento, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, University of Sassari, University of Tuscia, Milan Polytechnic, Resources for the Future and University of Bologna. It is organised in a network distributed throughout the country, with offices in Lecce, Bologna, Caserta, Milan, Sassari, Venice and Viterbo. It connects public and private entities working together on multidisciplinary research of interest to climate sciences. The CMCC also represents the National Focal Point for the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The mission of the CMCC Foundation is to carry out studies and models of the climate system and its interactions with society to ensure reliable, timely and rigorous results in order to stimulate sustainable growth, protect the environment and develop in the context of climate change, science-based adaptation and mitigation policies. CMCC provides its expertise to various European and international research programs, such as those funded by the Horizon Program, PRIMA-MED, Interreg, etc, by adopting a multilevel approach for actively involving all interested parties, obtaining innovations that are as marketable as possible and able to provide effective and concrete solutions in the short and long term to face complex and connected transformations.
Scotland’s Rural College's (SRUC) mission is to create and mobilise knowledge and talent. Partnering locally and globally to benefit Scotland’s natural economy.
SRUC was established in 2012 through the merger of the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) with Barony, Elmwood, and Oatridge Colleges, with a history of over 100 years. SRUC exists to deliver comprehensive skills, education, and business support for Scotland’s land-based industries, founded on world-class and sector-leading research, education, and consultancy.
SRUC’s research activity spans:
- Crops and soils
- Animal behaviour and welfare
- Genetics and genomics
- Disease and epidemiology
- Environment and ecology
- Agri-food systems
- Economics and policy
The Sustainable Ecosystems Team are part of one of the largest groupings of economists and social scientists working in the rural, agricultural, and land-based sectors in the UK. We have a strong track record in applying economic tools to the environmental aspects of land use. This includes numerous soil related projects funded by Scottish and UK Governments, UK Research Councils and EU Framework and Horizon Programmes.
Current and recent soil-related research involving the Sustainable Ecosystems Team:
- Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme (2022-27): Understanding The Value Of Scotland's Agricultural Soil Natural Capital
- Wet Horizons (EU Horizon Europe) (2022-2026) Improving wetland knowledge and developing tools to enhance protection and restoration of Europe’s wetlands)
- UKRI Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) (2019-24) - South Asia Nitrogen Hub, Evaluation of nitrogen options for economic and social benefit
- ClimateXChange (2021) - Understanding the experiences of peatland restoration in Scotland
- Global Food Security Programme (2018-21): Sustainable Economic and Ecological Grazing Systems – Learning from Innovative Practitioners (SEEGSLIP)
- NERC (2016-19) – Valuing Nature Phase 2: Understanding ecosystem stocks and tipping points in UK peatlands
- NERC - Valuing Nature Network (2011-12) - Valuing the impacts of ecosystem service interactions for policy effectiveness; Assessing and valuing peatland ecosystem services for sustainable management
- EU-FP7 (2011-2015) - Sustainable farm Management Aimed at Reducing Threats to SOILs under climate change (SmartSOIL)
- Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (2010) - Socio-Economic Data on Scottish Soils – a Scoping Study
In the BIOservicES project, Scotland’s Rural College will coordinate Work Package 4 - Economic valuation of the ecosystem services associated with soil biodiversity.
Wageningen University & Research - founded in 1918 - is a collaboration between Wageningen University and the Wageningen Research Foundation. Its mission is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’. Over 7,200 employees, 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants in WUR’s Life Long Learning from more than a hundred countries work everywhere around the world in the domain of healthy food and living environments for governments and the business community at large. In the soil health domain, WU has been in the past 5 years partner in the H2020 Diverfarming project and is currently a partner in BIOservicES, InBestSoil, SoilValues, NOVASOIL and Benchmarks projects.
With 50,484 students, the Technical University of Munich (TUM for short) is the largest technical university in Germany in terms of student numbers. It is based in Munich. In the main edition of the THE ranking, TUM was ranked 30th in 2023 and is the best university in the European Union. In addition to the THE ranking, TUM achieved first place in Germany in the QS World University Ranking. In the equally renowned Shanghai Ranking, TUM achieved second place in Germany in 2023 behind the University of Heidelberg.
The TUM School of Life Sciences at the Weihenstephan Campus is where the Technical University of Munich pools its expertise in the field of life sciences. The term Life Sciences refers to a branch of science that deals with life processes or structures of living organisms or in which living organisms are involved.
The Life Sciences have revolutionised our understanding of how organisms and biological systems operate. Only when we better understand our planet in its complex diversity we can contribute to securing the foundations of healthy living and shaping the coexistence of mankind in a sustainable way. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich are therefore concentrating their expertise in life sciences at the TUM School of Life Sciences in Weihenstephan, which was founded in 2000.
In the spirit of the "One Health" idea, the TUM School of Life Sciences uniquely combines the necessary key competencies to explore the fundamentals of our lives: from molecules to cellular systems to plant and animal organisms, from soil to ecosystems, from food to nutritional medicine, from biogenic raw materials to biotechnology – while making use of the benefits of artificial intelligence.
The Chair for Environmental Microbiology (headed by Prof. Michael Schloter) has a strong focus on the analysis of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. These microbiomes are a crucial component of the "One Health" concept. They play an extremely important role in ecosystem functioning and perform key functions that support the health of the planet, including nutrient cycling, climate regulation, and water filtration. Microbiomes also form so-called metaorganisms with almost all higher eukaryotes, including animals, plants, and us humans, and perform important roles in the health of their respective hosts. Although researchers are beginning to understand that microbiomes interact with each other in different ecosystems, little research has been done on how microbiomes from different environments influence each other.
Microbiome transfer, for example, occurs between and within abiotic (e.g., air, soil, and water) and biotic environments and can be mediated either by various vectors (e.g., insects or food) or by direct interactions. Such transmission processes may include the transfer of pathogens or antibiotic resistance genes. Most often, however, microbial interactions have positive implications for planetary and human health because the transferred microorganisms, which may provide new functions, can be important for ecosystem adaptation.
The Chair for Environmental Microbiology is investigating how changes in microbiomes in the environment, directly and indirectly, affect our human microbiome and what functional consequences can be derived from these altered interactions.
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, its mission is to foster, coordinate, develop and promote scientific and technological research of a multidisciplinary nature in order to contribute to advancing knowledge and economic, social and cultural development as well as to train staff and advise public and private entities on this matter. The CSIC has 70 fully owned institutes or centres distributed throughout Spain, and, in addition, it has 53 Joint Research Units with universities or other research institutions.
The Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (EEAD-CSIC) is a research institute of the CSIC, and it is devoted to Agricultural Sciences. The main aim is to provide the agricultural sector with appropriate materials and technologies to increase competitiveness and sustainability through a deeper knowledge of the basic processes of the plant-environment system. This aim encompasses activities in high-quality research, postgraduate education and technical training, technical consulting for public and private sectors, and dissemination of our results to society.
AgroCultívate is a company founded in 2016 by technicians with extensive agricultural experience, in order to solve economic and technical problems for farmers on their companies. Through a continuous advisory system throughout the entire crop cycle, biotic and abiotic parameters are controlled so that the farmer obtains the highest economic performance on his farm, improves the quality of his products and the lowest possible environmental impact.
With scientific research and management experiences acquired through continuous field work, training is also provided to farmers to maximize the success rate of their crops. To these ends, we are currently working on very varied farms with more than 30,000 hectares of crops, between Aragon, Catalonia and the Balearic regions, advising on nut crops, olive groves and cereals being their specialties. For 10 years, the company has specialized in the cultivation of pistachios as well, as an alternative to almond production, providing numerous training courses for farmers and actively participating in the creation of the Association of Pistachio Growers of Aragon. The company has a professional agricultural farm in the municipalities of Albalate del Arzobispo and Ariño with the following areas: 30 hectares of dry land, 50 hectares of irrigated land, 45 hectares of olive trees, 40 hectares of almond trees, 10 hectares of walnut trees. and 100 hives to obtain pollen and honey and pollination where we develop agricultural essays. Currently, AgroCultívate has 10 people on staff, of which 6 are women. In this project, AGROCULTÍVATE has the previous experience and analytical capacity to resolve design and management issues, as well as to analyze the economic use of the proposed innovations, finally we are in touch every day with many farms where they will take advantage of the results and their economic study.
The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL is one of the world’s leading institutes in the field of organic agriculture. Its locations are situated in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, and a representation in Brussels (Belgium) through FiBL Europe. FiBL’s strengths lie in its interdisciplinary research, innovations developed jointly with farmers and the food industry, solution-oriented development projects and rapid knowledge transfer from research into practice.
FiBL has a highly competent staff with expertise in all matters organic: soil management and plant production, species-appropriate animal husbandry and holistic animal health, socioeconomic matters, organic food processing and comprehensive analysis of the organic market.
Along with practical research, FiBL prioritises advisory work, training courses and providing specialist information (studies, technical leaflets, reference books, websites).
Founded in 1986, Zabala Innovation Consulting is a consultancy firm with large experience in the management of R&D Innovation activities and Social Innovation activities. With a team of more than 400 professionals across thirteen countries, we specialise in providing project management, social innovation, exploitation and communication and dissemination services for projects funded under transnational collaborative programmes, including exploitation and innovation management in multi-beneficiaries grant agreements. The Social Innovation department has years of relevant experience in EU projects, including within the agri-food, bioeconomy, and sustainable soil management sectors, by finding solutions to more efficient resource management. Social innovation involves developing new ideas, services, and models to better address the social challenges that R&I projects may imply and, ultimately, increase the social acceptance of these new solutions. Zabala aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to implement this vision in all projects.
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT) is a public university with a long history and tradition in engineering and economic studies. It greatly emphasises international cooperation and mobility, welcoming approximately 200 foreign students and lecturers. With over 90 R&D groups, this University aims to be not only a place for the dissemination of knowledge but also a source of scientific and technological creation. These groups carry out basic and applied research in various fields. The UPCT is committed to promoting research, development, innovation and scientific exchange with numerous public and private national and international institutions, reinforcing its links with the industry world.
The European Projects Office of our University, integrated within the Unit of Research and Technology Transfer, was created in 2009 to face the challenges of the European Research Area, meet researchers’ new demands and needs, strengthen EU research activities and foster participation. This Office has wide experience in EU projects. Since its creation, we have applied for more than 300 projects in different calls. We have led or participated in more than 50 EU initiatives. UPCT manages 22 European projects in leading programmes, such as Horizon 2020, FP7, LIFE, INTERREG SUDOE and Erasmus+.
Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava" is the main forest research centre and the leader of scientific ideas in forestry and related research and development in Latvia. LSFRI Silava was established in 1946. Scientists are involved in the implementation of scientific projects covering different subject areas: Forest ecology and silviculture; National Forest Inventory, Forest tree breeding and climate change, Genetic Resource Centre, Forest regeneration and establishment, Forest phytopathology and mycology, Forest entomology, Forest operations and energy, Wildlife management, Forest products processing.
The University of Tuscia is located in Viterbo, Central Italy. Out of the six
departments that constitute the faculty, one of them is involved in the project: the
Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest systems (DIBAF),
which carries out research and development activities in several fields in forestry and agriculture, from ecology, ecophysiology and silviculture to sustainable forest and cropland management, forest inventories and geomatics, rehabilitation of degraded areas, techniques for wildfire prevention and fighting, and landscape planning.
The Department has been involved in several relevant studies and researches on
the analysis of the impact of agro-forestry activities, providing also scientific advice and support for agroforestry projects at national and international level. UNITUS and people from DIBAF have a long experience in participating and coordinating several national and EU projects dealing with climate change mitigation and adaptation with particular focus on sustainable forest management and land use change and their effects on sinks, sources and fluxes of carbon in the agro-forestry sector, aimed at contributing the EU emission reduction targets.
FlächenAgentur Rheinland GmbH (FAR) was founded in 2009. As a subsidiary of the farmers' association, it advises land users, developers and local authorities on the ecologically sustainable use of the open countryside and is committed to linking agriculture, environmental protection, nature conservation and science. Its tasks include the organisation of rural environmental projects and initiatives, the technical planning of nature conservation intervention regulations and the search for and acquisition of suitable areas for scientific research in the open countryside.
“SIA "Rīgas meži" was founded in 2008 and is owned by Riga city. It manages forest properties in Riga (about 5.5 thousand ha) and outside Riga (around 56.5 thousand ha), as well as the Riga public green areas (399 ha, 01.02. 2023) and cultural and recreational park "Mežaparks" (378.7 ha, 01.02.2023). SIA "Rīgas forests" takes care of the sustainable management of these areas to preserve biodiversity and provide accessibility of these areas for society.
The Juana de Vega Foundation is a non-profit private entity, created in 1872, by Juana de Vega. She was born in A Coruña (Galicia) in 1805 into an enlightened and liberal family that made a fortune in Havana (Cuba).
She married at a very young age to General Francisco Espoz y Mina, a hero of the Peninsular War. She later became governess of Queen Isabel II but above all and throughout her life she was a woman with a deep social concern. She had no offspring, so at the end of her life she left all her properties to set up this foundation with the aim of creating a school of agriculture to provide training for the people working in the agricultural sector.
Nowadays, the Foundation’s mission continues to be the rural development of Galicia, but adapted to the reality and needs of today's society, which is very different from the 19th century’s society. Our three strategic areas of work are: support for the agri-food sector, innovation and research, and landscape and territory. In addition, the Foundation finances the Juana de Vega Chair at the University of Santiago de Compostela, which aims at contributing to the dissemination of the life and work of our founder.
At the Foundation we are continuously thinking about new projects and new initiatives that can benefit rural areas and their productive sectors. These projects can be developed by us independently and with our own funds, or in collaboration with other important agents in the rural area, both public and private. Along these lines, we maintain a clear support for the recovery of the biological wealth of agricultural interest in Galicia. We have committed and continue to commit to the recovery of indigenous vines, olive trees and other varieties that allow us to differentiate Galician products in the markets and be more competitive.
More innovation and research in rural Galicia
One of our key lines of work in recent years has been Research and Innovation. We are continuously submitting new project proposals to competitive calls at European, national and regional level. At present, we have 11 active projects approved by the programs Horizon Europe, Life, Interreg Europe, Interreg SUDOE, Interreg POCTEP, and Fundación Biodiversidad, as well as regional Operational Groups co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). In total, they represent an investment of more than €5.8M in rural Galicia.
Our present is also future
We are very pleased with the path that the Juana de Vega Foundation started more than 150 years ago. We invest in rural areas following the mandate given by our founder and because it is our corporate purpose, but above all, because we think it is useful to improve the competitiveness of rural areas and their productive sectors.
With our activities, we want to convey to the general public that the countryside is a space of opportunities for entrepreneurs and for anyone to develop professionally and personally, ensuring their quality of life.