The objective of CONSOLE is to boost innovation in the lasting delivery of agri-environmental-climate public goods (AECPGs) by EU agriculture and forestry. To achieve this objective, CONSOLE builds a Community of Practice (CoP) to cocreate an empirically validated contractual framework, design and test effective and efficient contract models and support their implementation by multiple actors. The CONSOLE multi-actor and multidisciplinary team brings together 24 partners in 13 countries, covering representative typologies of actors involved in AECPGs contracts design and implementation (farmer organisations, regional administrations, consultancy companies, research institutions and water and forest management bodies). The CONSOLE framework will allow improved design and facilitate implementation of innovative contract solutions for the provision of AECPGs under various conditions across the EU. The CONSOLE framework includes: a) a catalogue showcasing successful experiences and good practices in AECPGs contracting and cooperation models; b) improved AECPGs contracts solutions and their assessment for different levels of governance; c) a comprehensive guide to the process for the design of AECPGs contracts; d) documentation, training and supporting materials. CONSOLE includes a comprehensive analysis of at least 52 case studies of existing experiences encompassing land tenure arrangements, result-based approaches, collective implementation and value chain-based remuneration, supported by surveys and modelling. Building upon these experiences, improved contract solutions will be developed in collaboration with the CoP. The CONSOLE framework will be tested in real decision-making contexts and will develop into a supporting tool for actors in the field, enabling the delivery and sustainability of AECPGs. Insights will improve policy design towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular through environmental policies and the post-2020 CAP.

The CCRI CSA's goal is to strengthen and complement the CCRI, in order to foster the implementation of Circular Systemic Solutions (CSS) in European cities and regions. Based on an initial scoping and needs assessment, the CSA will set up an Expert Team to support Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) and provide complementary technical assistance to CCRI cities and regions during the duration of the project. The CSA will also deepen the CCRI knowledge on circular economy, with the production of highly impactful case studies on CSS, a series of white papers on key Research & Innovation (R&I) gaps, guidance documents for practitioners at the local and regional level, as well as recommendations for EU and national policy makers, to unlock barriers faced local and regional authorities. By establishing a series of mechanisms such as including webinars, study visits and a twinning program, the CSA will stimulate knowledge transfer, pear learning and capacity building towards an audience of cities and regions, including but not limited to CCRI Pilots and Fellows. All dissemination and communication activities will use the CCRI existing umbrella identity and existing communication channels. The CSA will endeavour to strengthen links with the European ecosystem and to promote the circular economy towards all European cities and regions. Those activities will be done in close coordination with the CCRI-CSO and DG RTD, to take advantage of potential synergies and importantly to prevent any overlaps and duplications with the work of the CSO. Led by ICLEI Europe, the CSA brings together 11 leading organisations active throughout Europe and with considerable expertise and experience in supporting cities and regions sustainability transition.

Representing 30% of its population and over 80% of its territory, EU rural areas are facing simultaneous demographic, climate, economic, social and environmental changes which affect their characteristics and metabolisms. Responding to these challenges requires a precise understanding of what rural areas are and what rural communities are facing nowadays. Definitions of rural areas tend to lean on population density or size. They do not provide sufficient insights into the dynamics, drivers and fluidity of contemporary diverse rural-urban relations and identities that characterize ruralities across Europe. Despite the increasing acknowledgement that rural areas are diverse and that typologies should better reflect the identities of such territories, the lack of data at a fine scale prevents such innovations. Departing from an updated conceptualisation of rurality based on the multi-dimensional nature of contemporary rural-urban interrelations and interdependencies, GRANULAR will generate new insights for characterising rural diversity based on a multi-actor and interdisciplinary approach. Based on insights from Multi-Actor Labs, it will generate novel datasets using a wide range of methods and primary data, such as remote sensing, crowd-sourced data, mobile phone data and web-scraping. This data will then be combined with a variety of existing institutional data to derive indicators relevant to rural communities for the implementation of the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas (LTVRA), so to measure resilience, well-being, quality of life and attractiveness. This will enable GRANULAR to create a Rural Compass, that take into account the factors affecting rural communities and their functional characteristics, informing policymakers and rural actors for the design of tailored rural policies. After ensuring the up-scalability of the results, datasets, data visualization and other tools will be directly available on a dedicated platform designed by and for rural actors.

The New Delivery Model established in Regulation EU 2115/2021 entails significant changes to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) governance with the introduction of Strategic Plans and new monitoring, review and evaluation requirements. The CAP is expected to contribute significantly to the Green Deals ambitions, securing the achievement of sustainability and resilience goals for the EUs Agri-food systems. Innovative governance models are essential to enable result-based policymaking to deliver the best policy pathways to facilitate the green transition. Tools4CAP will (1) support the implementation of National Strategic Plans 2023-2027, and (2) lay the foundations for sound preparation of Post-2027 Strategic Plans. Accordingly, Tools4CAP establishes a flexible and participatory Coordination & Support Action designed to boost learning, exchange processes, and adoption of innovative solutions and good practices for the design, monitoring and evaluation of CAP Strategic Plans. Tools4CAPs methods and tools will cover three key areas: (1) quantitative modelling tools for ex-ante and ex-post evaluations, (2) participatory and multi-governance decision tools, and (3) novel data and monitoring solutions. The project will deliver a comprehensive inventory of methods and tools used in the 27 Member States, methodological guidelines on innovative solutions and a Handbook of good practices. Results will be integrated in a Capacity Building Toolkit, designed to enhance science-policy interfaces. Tools4CAP utilises a Stakeholder Engagement Platform to boost bottom-up adaptation of innovative methods and tools. It will establish a Replication Lab to demonstrate their use in 10 Member States and to promote their uptake across the EU-27. The project will also set up a Capacity Building Hub to help end-users (ministries, management authorities, paying agencies, other stakeholders) reinforce their capacity to use innovative tools, including models used by the European Commission.

The Common Agricultural Policy is the European Union's flagship policy for supporting the agricultural sector, ensuring food security, and safeguarding rural development while it is also a key tool for reaching the objectives of the European Green Deal, including the Farm to Fork and the Biodiversity Strategy. With these policy strategies, the EU aims for more sustainable food systems. Effectively supporting the policy impact assessment in this new context is a great challenge for the existing quantitative modelling tools as it requires them to substantially enhance the thematic coverage to comprehensively address all the components of the European Green Deal and ensure consistency with the monitoring systems in place. ACT4CAP27 responses to this challenge by enhancing the analytical capacity of the key policy tools (CAPRI,GLOBIOM,MAGNET,AGMEMOD) used by the European Commission to assess short-term and long-term policy impacts on EU’s agri-food systems and providing evidence-based knowledge supporting analysis for the design of agri-food policies post 2027. ACT4CAP27 develops a consistent, interdisciplinary methodological framework to operationalise and quantify relevant aspects of the EU agri-food system and related policies post 2027 and their economic, social (including health), environmental and climate sustainability impacts. Act4CAP27 addresses the main shortcomings of current modelling tools with its Act4CAP27 Modular Toolbox for EU Food System Modelling which provides a basis for innovation by creating a collaborative space and a modular model infrastructure for the whole EU agri-food research community and beyond. The Act4CAP27 Dissemination and Stakeholder Platform establishes an appropriate and inclusive engagement with stakeholders to co-create, communicate, and disseminate Act4CAP27 research results. ACT4CAP27 launches an Interactive Roadmap for guiding EU, national and regional policy makers weigh up policy objectives towards more sustainable outcomes.