Co-creation for innovation – Preparing multi-actor projects

All across Europe, rural areas are facing major social, economic, and environmental concerns and challenges. Innovative solutions are needed to help farmers, foresters, and other rural businesses or initiatives to meet the expectations of wider society, whilst at the same time running their own successful businesses and working in harmony with the essential natural resources on which we all depend. Innovation encompasses various processes such as networking, the co-creation of ideas, and regular information exchange. In particular, practical collaboration between partners with diverse competencies is needed for the realisation of innovative ideas and new solutions.

EU funding for so-called ’multi-actor‘ research and innovation projects is an especially important tool for speeding up the development, local adjustment, dissemination, and use of innovations in food, farming, the bioeconomy, natural resources and the environment. The EU Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) specifically requires applicants to ensure that potential future users of the project’s results contribute to the development and implementation of the project from the beginning until the end of the activities. Over 40 % of all topics of Cluster 6 of the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme require the application of the multi-actor approach. And more are to come!

Objectives of PREMIERE:
PREMIERE aims to strengthen the multi-actor approach by supporting the development of more relevant, coherent, and well-prepared project proposals. This includes all aspects of improving the search for suitable partners, building the project partnership, co-designing the work plan, and negotiating an appropriate budget. A particular focus will be on the involvement of new partner organisations that have not previously been involved in multi-actor projects, including those that have made previous unsuccessful project proposals. Success with the multi-actor project approach is all about making sure that academic and non-academic consortium members find each other and collaborate on equal levels to ensure that the focus of their work together is on meeting the real needs of practitioners.

PREMIERE will foster the effective preparation of successful multi-actor proposals for Horizon Europe and beyond by developing a suite of support activities and easy-to-use materials:

  • Organisation of brokerage events for forthcoming Horizon Europe calls for multi-actor projects
  • Pilot seed funding for project proposal development, including specific to engage EIP-AGRI Operational Groups in Horizon Europe
  • Celebration of successful new multi-actor projects at Granting Parties
  • Multi-actor training through a multi-actor simulation game, an online Serious Game, an Online Academy, and a MOOCas well as offline training-for-trainers
  • Divers output such as online videos, creative videos, How-to-Guides etc.
  • Recommendations and briefings for the European Commission, their services and external evaluators to help to ensure the implementation of the multi-actor approach in new project proposals.

Coordination and Support Action:
The work of this so-called Coordination and Support Action, funded by Horizon Europe, began in January 2023 and will continue until December 2027 (5 years). The PREMIERE partners collaborate in a highly interactive work programme that consists of six workpackages (WPs):

  • WP1 ‘Connect’ ensures constant dialogue between the PREMIERE consortium and the actors in the AKIS.
  • WP2 ‘Governance’ works with policymakers and executive agencies at all levels (including National Contact Points for the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme) to strengthen the enabling environment for co-innovation.
  • WP3 ‘Projects’ supports current and prospective partners of MA consortia, which are aiming to implement the MAA.
  • WP4 ‘Tools’ catalogues and develops tools, including a Serious Game, to enable learning and capacity development
  • WP5 ‘Skills’ delivers training, learning techniques and hands-on practical experience in the marketplace and brokerage for co-innovation.
  • WP6 aims to ensure the project’s successful and efficient implementation by coordinating all activities and processes.

Together with the Open University, the Cologne Game Lab from the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences is responsible for the serious game to be developed in the project (WP4).

CGL Team:
Prof. Dr. Roland Klemke (Team Lead)
Simon Skrippek (Programming)
Arkadijs Gribacovs (3D Art)

You can find all further information on the official project page: www.premiere-multiactor.eu