Innovative Toolbox empowering effective CAP governance towards EU ambitions

Project Information

Tools4CAP

Grant agreement ID: 101086311

DOI

10.3030/101086311

EC signature date 18 October 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 3 999 999,50

EU contribution

€ 3 999 994,00

Coordinated by

ECORYS BRUSSELS NV
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Tools4CAP (Innovative Toolbox empowering effective CAP governance towards EU ambitions)

Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is undergoing significant changes under the New Delivery Model (NDM), as established by Regulation EU 2115/2021. This introduces Strategic Plans (SPs) and new monitoring, review, and evaluation requirements. In light of these changes, Tools4CAP aims to support the design, monitoring, and evaluation of CAP-SP by providing Member States with tailored methods and tools. This project empowers policymakers to achieve the green transition, sustainability, and resilience goals by offering ready-to-use quantitative and qualitative solutions, participatory decision tools, and new data and monitoring technologies. Additionally, Tools4CAP assesses the feasibility of new methods for SP design, and evaluates farm-level modelling tools. SP design processes are enhanced by adapting quantitative tools for diverse contexts and developing tailored participatory approaches. New data sources for monitoring, to simplify and integrate existing frameworks, are explored. The project focuses on five objectives:

• Provide a knowledge base and evaluation of methods and tools for SP design and implementation.
• Identify and adapt methods and tools from recent research and EU initiatives.
• Empower end users to adopt innovative solutions with methodological guidance.
• Establish a replication lab for practical demonstration and uptake of SP solutions.
• Set up a knowledge transfer capacity-building hub, fostering mutual learning and science-policy dialogue.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Tools4CAP establishes the fundamental framework for supporting the CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs). Tools4CAP focused on three main operational areas: quantitative modelling and forecasting tools, participatory and decision‑making tools, and data and technologies.

WP1 delivered the project’s conceptual and empirical baseline through a publicly accessible inventory of tools used by Member States, complemented by a unifying conceptual framework on the CAP policy cycle under the New Delivery Model. A benchmarking exercise assessed the strengths and limitations of existing tools, identifying areas for improvement and replication.

WP2 assessed the potential of quantitative and modelling tools to address CAP sustainability objectives, mapping policy needs against modelling capabilities and identifying gaps. The development of innovative tools and methodological guidelines was initiated and aligned with upcoming case studies.

WP3 addressed decision‑making challenges in multi‑level CAP governance, producing a typology of barriers and enabling factors and co‑designing improved decision‑support methods with practical implementation guidance.

WP4 advanced data integration and digitalisation by analysing data needs, mapping relevant technologies, and identifying interoperability challenges, resulting in preliminary frameworks to support more integrated and cost‑effective data use.

WP5 prepared the Replication Lab by establishing a framework for selecting demonstration case studies.

WP6 strengthened communication, dissemination, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building through targeted strategies and platforms.

WP7 ensured effective coordination, governance, and compliance across the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The success and lasting impact (at policy, societal economic and scientific level) of Tools4CAP depends on the effective uptake of information and results by end users. Tools4CAP ensures that the final outputs and results of the project are tailored to the specific needs of end-users across MSs and provided in an accessible, user-friendly format.

During the first and second periods, the project's network started to be established by mobilising knowledge among Tools4CAP participants, end users, policymakers, stakeholders, and the scientific community. This network aims to build the capabilities of end users and policymakers, enhancing CAP governance towards a green transition and improving contributions to EU goals. By fostering a collaborative environment, Tools4CAP ensures that innovative solutions are effectively integrated and utilised across MSs, driving progress towards sustainability and resilience in agriculture and related sectors. This aims at increasing the impact of the project.

Effective communication and dissemination are crucial to facilitate the further exploitation of project results and maximise the project’s impact. The Tools4CAP Academy has facilitated knowledge transfer to end users through capacity-building webinars and a toolkit designed to foster the replication and further adaptation of innovative tools and models across Member States. The training materials developed are translated into at least 16 EU languages and will be openly available beyond the project’s duration to further foster knowledge transfer, uptake, and impact of project results.

During the second reporting period, the team successfully set up a series of case studies, which aim to simulate the execution of alternative approaches relevant to the SP design and implementation processes, through the use of the selected innovative tools.

Tools4CAP aims to strengthen the interface between science and policy through stakeholder engagement platforms in the third phase, and capacity-building webinars that reinforce the exchange between scientists, tool developers, and policymakers to amplify the project's impact.

Logo of Tools4CAP project

Main outcomes of Tools4CAP