EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for "Increasing knowledge flows to practice within AKIS via thematic networks" (HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-12)

1. Strategic Fit with EU Priorities

• Green Deal & Farm-to-Fork – accelerates climate-smart, biodiversity-positive farming by turning R&I results into practice EU-wide.

• Digital Europe & Data Strategy – feeds interoperable, FAIR data into EU-FarmBook, AKISConnect and common data spaces, supporting the twin green/digital transition.

• CAP 2023-27 Cross-Cutting Objective – directly delivers the mandatory strengthening of AKIS foreseen in every Member State Strategic Plan.

2. Single Market Access (450+ million consumers)

• Rapid EU-wide dissemination of proven sustainable practices creates uniform performance standards along supply chains, easing cross-border trade in eco-labelled products.

• End-users gain access to pan-European demand for sustainably produced food, timber and bio-based products, boosting farm & forest income potential.

3. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Flow

• Mandatory Multi-Actor Consortium enables farmers, advisors, researchers and SMEs from multiple Member States to co-design outputs, ensuring cultural and agro-ecological relevance.

• Direct links to EIP-AGRI Operational Groups in all regions create an EU-scale ‘living lab’, reducing duplication and speeding up adoption.

• 24-language translation requirement breaks linguistic barriers, a unique EU added value impossible to fund nationally.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• Uptake of common good/agri-environmental practices supports compliance with CAP conditionality, Nature Restoration Law and Zero-Pollution targets across jurisdictions.

• Shared guidance material reduces interpretation gaps between national authorities, lowering administrative costs for farmers operating in several Member States.

5. Leverage of the EU Innovation Ecosystem

• Access to Joint Research Centre, ERICs, KICs, EIT Food, Copernicus data and Digital Innovation Hubs for co-creation of state-of-the-art advisory tools.

• Synergies with Cluster 4 & Digital Europe (AI, Data Spaces) and Cluster 5 (Climate) allow integration of remote-sensing, carbon-accounting and biodiversity monitoring services.

6. Funding Synergies & Blending Opportunities

• Results can be scaled through:

- CAP Strategic Plan innovation interventions (Article 77)

- LIFE & Interreg for eco-system restoration pilots

- InvestEU & Recovery & Resilience Facility for digital infrastructure needed by advisory services

- Erasmus+ for embedding training modules in agricultural colleges.

• Positive track record under this CSA strengthens eligibility for future Mission ‘Soil Deal for Europe’ tenders and EIC Transition calls.

7. Economies of Scale & Impact Potential

• Lump-sum grant simplifies administration, freeing ~10-15 % of project resources normally lost to complex cost reporting for additional outreach.

• A single EU-level repository (EU-FarmBook) avoids 27 parallel national platforms, saving ~€4–6 m in duplicated IT maintenance over 5 years.

• Geographically balanced uptake narrows the west-east / north-south productivity gap, contributing up to €2 bn in additional GVA by 2030 (based on past AKIS impact studies).

8. Long-Term Sustainability & Business Models

• Obligation to present a post-project maintenance plan allows pivoting to subscription-based advisory apps, public-private knowledge hubs or CAP network service contracts.

• Harmonised cost–benefit data supports evidence for Member States to earmark CAP funds for digital advisory vouchers, ensuring revenue after EU funding ends.

9. Actionable Opportunities for Applicants

1. Theme Selection – choose gaps not yet covered (e.g., agroforestry carbon credits, circular bio-inputs, wildfire-resilient silviculture). Cross-check with completed thematic networks to avoid ineligibility.

2. Consortium Design – at least 12-15 partners from ≥10 Member States:

• 1 EU-level farmers’/foresters’ organisation

• 4–5 advisory service providers (link to AKISConnect)

• Universities/JRC node for scientific validation

• Digital SMEs for multimedia production

• NGOs representing women & young farmers to address social diversity.

3. Synergy Work Package – dedicate ≥15 % budget to harvesting 100+ relevant Operational Group outputs; negotiate MoUs with national CAP networks before submission.

4. Translation & Accessibility Plan – leverage eTranslation API + local proof-reading; allocate ~€120k for full 24-language coverage.

5. Impact KPIs – target 20 000 end-users reached, 500 advisors trained, uptake in ≥18 Member States, and 10 policy briefs feeding into CAP Strategic Plan revisions (2027).

10. Key Take-Away

Operating at EU scale multiplies impact, reduces duplication, and aligns perfectly with current and forthcoming policy drivers. Thematic networks funded under this call are uniquely positioned to turn Europe’s world-class agri-research into everyday practice from Lapland to Cyprus, helping meet Green Deal objectives while strengthening the competitiveness of the single market.