<< Background >>The agricultural sector in Europe faces a broad array of challenges that threaten the functions it provides, its stability but also its survival. Diverse and heterogeneous risks are inherent in European agriculture (European Commission, 2017), especially those concerning environmental factors leading to production losses, such as extreme climatic conditions, local weather events and crop/animal diseases. However, there are also risks related to changes in trade policy, social preferences and markets behaviour (i.e., volatility of prices, financial & macroeconomic factors, competition, other sectors connection…) (Agricultural Markets Task Force, 2016), as well as non-standard threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Production losses, logistics issues and unfavourable market prices may unfold into farms’ income fluctuations and may result into farm closure. Unpredictable price movements, foremost changes in volatility, also discourage farmers to invest in productivity improvements (European Commission, 2017) that, in the long run, might improve the farm profitability and resilience.It is clear that the typical farms are missing the holistic Risk Management perception for their overall business entity and operations (a principle well known, understood, adopted and embedded in the governance of a typical business enterprise in most other sectors). The modern, global, open, digitalized, continuously transforming and competitive business scenery of which Farmers and their business are also part of, requires that they must become familiar and competent with the overall spectrum of risks related to their business and adopt a methodological approach and ways to manage these. At the same time, strategic and investment decisions have to be constantly evaluated. It is therefore required that Farmers are properly trained and educated in order to learn, adopt and embed holistic Risk Management as a business standard practice. The need is clear for a fit-for-purpose Risk Management Methodology – FaRMER Resilience Methodology, as proposed by this project – that addresses the whole spectrum of needs of the typical Farmer business. This methodology (a) addresses the baseline theory and (b) provides an implementation process for any Farmer to deploy risk management in their business. It is also required to provide the Farmers the approach to study, understand, learn and become competent on the subject and methodology (so, as a next step to be able to successfully implement it in their business and daily operations).More to the above, the typical Farmer educational background may vary from elementary School degree to PhD, therefore, the specific methodology to be developed, should be accessible, understandable and adoptable by farmers regardless their educational background.All theoretical and practical materials, as well as the tools and the overall approach should be modern, accessible by all, easily updated, available everywhere and in several languages. Therefore, the utilization of internet and online access to the methodology, material, training and related (educational and deployment) tools is also a key need that will be addressed through for this project. For the training module to be successful, it should not focus entirely on Farmers (in both materials and dissemination actions), but also engage Agricultural associations and cooperatives as well as consultants and SMEs, that could assist their members (and clients) to access the knowledge and utilize the methodology for their benefit. The outcome, in order to be holistic, should be the result of a combined effort and contribution of all field stakeholders (Agricultural experts, Consultants on Risk Management, VET providers, Technology firms and of course Farmers), as per our team engaged in this project.<< Objectives >>The key objectives of this project are:•Empower farmers’ risk culture and perception in a plain risk language easily comprehensible from all individuals working in the agri-food sector regardless of their educational background.•Enhance target groups’ resilience, productivity, and competitiveness through the evolution of their risk management competence and capabilities in relation to their business operations and management. •Develop analytical, cross-referencing and deductive reasoning skills of Farmers to help them navigate through the complexities and ever-changing nature of Farming business;•Provide a Point of Reference as an integrated fit-for-purpose approach for Business Resilience and Risk Management for Farmers.•Provide relevant associations, cooperatives and agricultural consultants the tools to assist their members and / or clients – that is, the farmers - enhance their knowledge, maturity and capability to deal with the risks of the environments their business are exposed to.•Provide all the tools required for this integrated approach by preparing the following project outcomes (as part of a joint effort of all related stakeholders):a.The FaRMER Resilience Methodology (including the Risk Management context and deployment methodology for the specific sector)b.The FaRMER Course (training curriculum) c.The “Score-My-Resilience” tool, a Self-Evaluation tool for Farmers to assess their subject competenced. The FaRMER online platform to provide access to the aforementioned materials.•Utilize digital and online tools to provide open access to the project’s materials and disseminate these results.•Assist Farmers to not only be familiar with but also adopt and utilize digital technologies as part of their business, helping them identify, assess, evaluate, monitor and control risks through the use of fit-for-purpose digital tools.• To provide access to all Europe Farmers ensuring outcomes are multilingual (limited as of this project budget to the languages of the participating partners).<< Implementation >>FaRMER consortium will implement the following activities:•Prior to submission the consortium will:oBe formulated;oConduct research to define the problem;oIdentify and analyse the needsoConduct an overall project planning•When the project will be contracted and launched:oAgricultural University of Athens (AUA) will develop a Project Excellence Plan (PEP) as the Coordinator, which will set the main management tools and procedures;oTOURNIS will develop the Risk Management Plan as part of the Excellence Plan which will serve as a risk management tool stipulating the main risks to the project activities, based on internal and external context;oAUA will develop the Project Work Plan (as part of PEP), which will serve as a main time management tool, containing the schedule of activities, task assignments and responsibilities and relevant deadlines;oAUA will establish the financial reporting mechanism with 6-month progress reports, which will be mandatory for partners in order to receive next installment;oConsulai will develop the Sharing, Promotion & Use Plan (SPUP), which will serve as the main guideline for effective communication and dissemination with project target groups and stakeholders;oTOURNIS will develop the Quality Plan, which will serve as a main quality assurance tool;oFaRMER consortium will plan thoroughly the results development including methodologies, templates and guidelines for execution of activities related to the respective result;oFaRMER consortium put the plan out for the relevant parties for realization & Execution of planned activities for each result;oAUA will monitor and measure the processes according to the plan, policies, objectives and requirements, Internal evaluation (peer reviews by all partners; assessment by QM leader) & External evaluation (pilot tests with target groups);oEach Project Result Leader will assign to relevant Partner the implementation of of corrective actions (refinements) based on the conclusions from performed external and internal evaluations;•Project Closure – The consortium will implement the following activities:oFinal reporting, and guaranteeing post project developments and actions;oPerforming targeted dissemination via organizing national project multiplier events in each partner country and the final conference in Greece;oPlanning of resources and actions to ensure sustainability of the project results after its end;oCarrying out the last project meeting;oPreparation of final report on project implementation;<< Results >>FaRMER will produce the following results:a)FaRMER Resilience Framework – The consortium will develop a Risk Management Methodology (a rigorous and holistic methodology) for assessing and managing agricultural risks taking into consideration the special context of EU countries and especially in rural and remote areas. Fundamental principles of international standards as of ISO 31000:2018 (Risk Management), ISO 22301:2019 (Business Continuity Management System) and ISO 22316:2017 (Security and resilience — Organizational resilience) as well as Best Practises and guidelines on the subject will be utilized to ensure the quality of the outcomes, customized to the needs and peculiarities of Agriculture sector to produce a step-by-step methodological framework to build farms’ resilience. Specifically, the Methodology will include the following steps:1.Establishing the context - defining the external and internal parameters of farms to be taken into account when managing risks2.Risk Assessment (Identification – Analysis – Evaluation of threats jeopardizing the existence of farmer)3.Risk Treatment 4.Communication and Consultation5.Monitoring and Reviewb)FARMER Course - Develop a training curriculum divided into individual learning modules (Threat Identification, Risk Management Strategy and Risk Management Policy), covering the whole spectrum of knowledge and competence on Risk Management in Agriculture operations and management as well as the use of digital tools to control and ultimately mitigate risks.c)Score My Resilience (SMR) - Development of Self-Evaluation Tool for assessing Farmers’ overall competence capability and skills on understanding, assessing and managing risks.d)FaRMER Pilot Study - FaRMER Pilot Study will serve as a trial run of the FaRMER Resilience Framework (PR2) to ensure that the developed methodological framework is of high quality, realistic, efficient and cover the needs of the target group. Through the results of the Pilot study we will determine the feasibility of FaRMER Resilience Framework by testing the methods we designed.e)Development of FARMER Online Platform in order to have the training content from the above results organized in a single location and accessed by target groups on an individual basis.

<< Background >>In 2007, the EU was importing 82% of its oil and 57% of its gas, which then made it the world's leading importer of these fuels. Only 3% of the uranium used in European nuclear reactors was mined in Europe. Russia, Canada, Australia, Niger and Kazakhstan were the five largest suppliers of nuclear materials to the EU, supplying more than 75% of the total needs in 2009. In 2015, the EU imports 53% of the energy it consumes. In January 2014, the EU agreed to a 40% emissions reduction by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and a 27% renewable energy target, which is expected to provide 70,000 full-time jobs and cut €33bn in fossil fuel imports. The target is ambitious compared to other advanced economies but insufficient to limit warming to well below 2 °C, let alone 1.5 °C, and align with the Paris Agreement.In 2015, the Framework Strategy for Energy Union is launched as one of the European Commission's 10 Priorities.The Energy Union Strategy is a project of the European Commission to coordinate the transformation of European energy supply. It was launched in February 2015, with the aim of providing secure, sustainable, competitive, affordable energy.Any project that can reduce the amount of Energy EU needs, is certainly in the right direction and in alignment with Energy Union strategy.Furthermore, over the last decade, attitudes towards the environment have changed; governments, businesses and consumers have all generally accepted the responsibility of taking environmental concerns into their own hands and playing their part to help save the planet’s precious resources.This responsibility is often driven not only by climate change legislation, but also by pressure from customers and stakeholders to be environmentally conscious.SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are widely acknowledged as a difficult target for energy policy. This is in part due to their diversity: they operate in every sector, in all property types, and vary from one person operations with no business premises, to manufacturers with up to 250 employees.According to the SPEEDIER (SME Program for Energy Efficiency through Delivery and Implementation of EneRgy Audits)- a project of CORDIS Program, as of end of November 2019, energy efficiency is considered a low priority for SMEs in comparison to other factors related to running a business.Worryingly, many SMEs do not regard energy efficiency in the workplace as a key priority and do not have any plans in place to become more energy efficient. The reason could be that the majority of SMEs dodge the issue of energy efficiency because they mistakenly believe that implementing any efficiency measure will be time consuming, difficult, and more importantly, costly.In this context, some of the challenges frequently cited by SMEs as far as energy efficiency and sustainability are concerned, include: • SMEs owners may feel that they do not have the financial and human resources, to dedicate them into sustainability and energy efficiency practices.• Small business owners and managers have limited time (or none at all) to invest in sustainability.• Owners of SMEs may not see the value in energy efficiency and sustainability.• SMEs may be interested in increasing their sustainability and energy efficiency, but they may be unsure of how to begin. It can feel overwhelming and seem like there are many barriers to entry.<< Objectives >>The consortium has identified the following target groups for the SMEnergy project:Main target groups: SMEs’ owners/managers/personnel with up to 100 employees & micro-enterprises, SME’s Financial Departments and/or the responsible/ decision-makes for energy sources management and/or environmental managers. Note: although the SMEnergy approach will apply to ALL SMEs, our effort will try to focus more on energy sensitive SMEs, such as Construction, Manufacturing, etc.Secondary target groups: Chambers, SMEs associations (members and staff), VET centers/ trainers/ consultants, experts that provide consultation and services to companies (internally or externally).In relation to the above target groups, the key objectives of SMEnergy are: - To enable SME owners and personnel to educate themselves on Energy Footprint management, by utilizing digital modern tools and technology- To provide them with an easy-to-use Self-Rating (S-R) tool to guide them through the Energy Footprint management process, enhancing their resource utilization and cost effectiveness- To give them access to a comprehensive and modular, self-paced Training Course, to help them get familiar with the S-R tool and start using it.- To arrange all the necessary resources on an online open education (OER) platform for free and easy access.- For those who want a deeper understanding of the above, the OER platform will host the well-researched and well-thought Energy Footprint management methodology, developed in SMEnergy, on which the tool and the course are based.- Provide the above secondary target groups, with tools to assist their members to acquire / improve their knowledge, maturity and capability, to deal with Energy Footprint management.-Assist all target groups to not only be familiar with but also adopt and utilize digital technologies as part of their business, helping them identify, assess, evaluate and optimize their Energy Footprint management.-All target groups will be able to utilize digital and online tools to gain open access to the project’s materials and disseminate these results.<< Implementation >>SMEnergy consortium will implement the following activities:•Prior to submission the consortium will:oBe formulatedoConduct research to define the project scopeoIdentify and analyse the needs of the target groupsoConduct an overall project planning•When the project will be contracted and launched:oSIGMA will develop the PWP (Project Work Plan) as the responsible party to manage and monitor the project’s progress. PWP will list all the project’s activities and tasks and the time that each task must be implemented, to produce a Project Result. Each result will be broken into tasks, with realistic implementation time and leaders. The PWP will be presented at the kick-off meeting and will be updated by the coordinator throughout the project. Regular reviews of the project schedule, as defined in the PWP will be carried out.oSIGMA will establish the financial reporting mechanism with 6-month progress reports, which will be mandatory for partners in order to receive next installment;oSIGMA will also develop the Risk Management Plan as part of the PWP, which will serve as a risk management tool stipulating the main risks to the project activities, based on internal and external contexto CCIV will develop the Sharing, Promotion & Use Plan (SPU plan), which will serve as the main guideline for effective communication and dissemination with project target groups and stakeholdersoUPRC will develop the Quality Plan, which will serve as the main quality assurance tooloISQ will develop the sustainability plan. This plan is additional to the SPU Plan and its main role is to ensure the sustainability of the project and to maximize its impact after the end of the project.oEach Project Result Leader will assign to relevant Partner the implementation of corrective actions (refinements) based on the conclusions from performed external and internal tests and evaluations•Project Closure – The consortium will implement the following activities:oFinal reporting, including guaranteeing post project developments and actions;oPerforming targeted dissemination via organizing national project multiplier events in each partner country and the final conference in BulgariaoPlanning of resources and actions to ensure sustainability of the project results after its end;oCarrying out the last project meetingoPreparation of final report on project implementation<< Results >>SMEnergy will produce the following Project Results:PR1: Energy Footprint management methodology - Leader: ISQPurpose: Methodology framework for implementation that will provide a systematic step-by-step process helping target groups to decrease their energy footprint.The methodology will include the following sections/chapters: 1.Introduction (theoretical background on energy use and consumption, energy classes, Energy Footprint, Energy management, best practices, international standards etc.) 2.Theoretical baseline & Methodological approach for Energy Footprint management in the sectors covered by the project. It will address the following key areas:a.Definition of SMEs’ energy-related activities & energy sources/devices per activity.b.Definition of all items and assets related to SMEs’ operations: buildings heating and cooling (energy sources: electricity, boiler fuel, other), car fleet (energy sources: fuel, electricity), machinery & h/w inventory (energy sources: electricity) and other assets (engaged in their operations) that use / consume energy. Indicative characteristics to be considered: energy form, energy class, energy source, energy management systems, consumption levels, efficiency, etc.c.Energy Footprint baseline and benchmarking in SMEs (including to define the consumption calculation method per source/form of energy and define the method to calculate/transform/map and add the measurements to a common denominator), in relation to specific assets and/or activities, that is based on statistics, international standards, bibliography and research.d.Improvement guidelines to optimize (including reducing) use/consumption and/or increase efficiency per energy source/form and per activity for SMEs.3.Methodology Implementation steps (i.e. the sequence of steps an SME manager / employee should follow, to take advantage of the methodology)a.Use the SMEnergy training course to: i.Study the introduction chapter ii.Understand the methodology b.Run the S-R tool c.Based on the results of the S-R tool, plan the implementation of the proposed measures d.Reuse of the Energy Footprint methodology - after implementing some or all of the improvement suggestions – to exploit further opportunitiese.Adopt a life-cycle approach to optimize the Energy Footprint methodology use outcome.4.AppendicesReference & supportive data for the Methodology & the S-R tool.PR2: Energy Footprint management Self-Rating tool - Leader: SIGMAPurpose: Preparation of an Energy Footprint Self-Assessment & Rating tool (S-R Tool)Will contain a series of well thought questions per target group, based on the Methodology (PR1), which will guide SMEs to create their Energy Footprint and receive energy management, improvement and optimisation suggestions.PR3: Training course - Leader: University of Piraeus Research Centre (UPRC)Purpose: Prepare a training course for SME’s personnel and other target groups, to understand the theory, the Methodology and the use of the S-R tool.It will indicatively include (but not limited to) :-An introductory module about the theory behind the Energy Footprint. -A detail module on the Methodology implementation and use of the S-R tool-Learning check questions at the end of each modulePR4: Open Education Resource platform (OER platform) - Leader: Eugene GlobalPurpose: Prepare all required web platforms and online sites and tools to host the digital forms of the Methodology, S-R Tool and Training Course. Includes the project web site.Manage the implementation of the Multilanguage approach to all above (in relation to the 4 national languages of the partners).

<< Objectives >>Promote people with disabilities’ employment and attractiveness for by enhancing their digital skills and supporting VET Providers to develop a more digital resilient educational scheme. Equip VET Providers with a Training Program to assist people with disabilities acquire digital skills. Empower persons with disabilities, transform their position in society, and ensure that they can access their rights in the new world of work. Support and facilitate people with disabilities at the workplace.<< Implementation >>1.Development of Project Management Plan (including Time, Finance, Risks); 2. Development of Quality Management Plan; 3.Design & Development of Digitability State Analysis Report; 4. Production of Digitability Educational Package; 5. Creation of Digitability Certification Scheme; 6. Design & Development of the Digitability Open Learning Platform; 7. Design and Develop Digitability website; 8. Development of Share, Promote and Exploitation Plan.<< Results >>The Digitability State Analysis Report, a twofold report for employees with disabilities and for employers that will analyze the recruiting challenges of hiring disabled peopleThe Digitability Training Course, educational package with interactive material including videos, quizzesThe Digitability Certification, a certification procedure that will allow users to test their knowledge and gain a Certification by a Certification bodyThe Digitability Open Learning Platform, an interactive platform

<< Objectives >>C.A.R.E. objectives are:- To raise young visually impaired people's self-esteem by strengthening their psychomotor skills, thus enhancing their opportunities to employability in the field of art, culture, social and manual work. - To foster the capacity building and impact of youth centres with the introduction of pottery workshops for all learners but with the right skills to welcome and fully engage visually impaired learners.<< Implementation >>C.A.R.E. leads to the structuring of ceramic workshops specifically tailored for young people with visual impairment, bridging (1) the competencies of experienced organizations already working with V.I.P., (2) the expertise in running ceramic workshops of pottery masters in each country involved, and (3) the active involvement of youth centres that will acquire new competencies to master psychomotor skills development and adapt their activity methods to welcome young V.I.P. in their premises.<< Results >>Project results are manuals to start pottery workshops in any organisation, with guidelines on how to fully engage visually impaired learners. The project participants’ artworks will be permanently exhibited in each partner city, thus creating the concept of city museum. The project arises as a key opportunity for young people with visual impairment to unlock their potential as individuals, as artists, and as employees, through pottery workshops and the enhancement of their psychomotor skills.

In the 2010 survey by KPMG and the Economist Intelligence Unit, “The convergence challenge Global survey into the integration of governance, risk and compliance”, it is identified that the main objective of GRC is to “improve performance and efficiency”. In the same survey, approximately two thirds of the respondents said that GRC is a priority for their organization, “driven by business complexity, a desire to reduce risk exposure and a need to improve corporate performance”.Businesses of all sizes can benefit from the proper use of GRC as it ensures that an organization is operated efficiently and effectively, risks are properly managed and compliance with internal and external rules and regulations is continuous. OBJECTIVESThe “GRC Essentials” project, will amalgamate and adapt the concepts of Governance, Risk management and Compliance (GRC), into a concept that will be easy for SMEs and microenterprises to implement in their business and work environment.The intellectual outputs of the project will be a combination of learning material, a learning platform and work-based learning activities. GRCEssentials project builds on the EU project ‘CASSANDRA’ (in which emcra & Tournis participated, https://cassandra-resilience.eu), a project aimed at helping SMEs to develop a risk management system tailored to the needs of their company and to have an increased awareness of possible business risks and threats, and on the EU ‘project IPEC’ (ETA, emcra & CPMS participated, http://project-ipec.eu), a project which developed a new micro-lite Project Management methodology, based on the needs of small and micro enterprises. The project begins with the GRCEssentials Curriculum and concludes with the GRC Essentials Work-based learning. In between the project will develop the GRCEssentials Learning platform and the GRCEssentials Certification.TARGET GROUPS-SMEs (Owners, Managers, Directors etc), -Employees in SMEs, -VET providers/trainers/consultants, -Business associations, -local/regional/national & EU-wide networks, -chambers of commerce and industry, -policy & decision makers.MAIN RESULTS ARE:- Development of a GRC curriculum adopted to the needs of SMEs and micro-enterprises.- Development of a GRC methodology that will enable SMEs and micro-enterprises to implement GRC in their work environment.- Development of a GRC certification.- Improved understanding of the GRC concept and how it can support SMEs and micro-enterprises improve their efficiency and effectiveness.IMPACTGRCEssentials will result in measurable improvements in the performance of enterprises. It will make SMEs ‘efficient, effective and resilitent’, because they are likely to be more competitive and more sustainable in the long term, by equipping them with knowledge, employable skills and tools related to GRC.