Sustainable Hub to Engage into Rural Policies with Actors

Project Information

SHERPA

Grant agreement ID: 862448

DOI

10.3030/862448

Project closed

EC signature date 2 September 2019

Start date 1 October 2019

End date 30 September 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 4 999 747,50

EU contribution

€ 4 999 747,50

Coordinated by

ECORYS BRUSSELS NV
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SHERPA (Sustainable Hub to Engage into Rural Policies with Actors)

Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2023-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The overall objective of SHERPA was to bring together relevant knowledge that contributes to the formulation of recommendations for future policies relevant to EU rural areas. SHERPA uses results of on-going and previous research projects (from FP6, FP7, H2020 and other EU and national funding streams) in the engagement with citizens, stakeholders, policy makers and scientists to develop strategic thinking and practical recommendations for the formulation of modern rural policies.

The project has: i) taken stock of scientific evidence relevant to future rural policy and research activities; ii) used this evidence in the engagement of citizens, stakeholders, researchers and policy makers at local and EU levels in debates about options for policy and priorities for research; iii) used the outcomes of engagement to formulate recommendations for future rural policies and agendas for research.

The project built a science-society-policy interface in 41 Multi-Actor Platforms (MAP) covering 19 EU Member States and the UK (Scotland), as well as one MAP at EU level, and state-of-the art multimedia tools for two-way communication with citizens and policy audiences.

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

Objective 1. To map the main drivers of future trends and dynamics of EU rural areas.
- Synthesised opportunities and challenges for rural areas, identified in the recent publication of the SHERPA Discussion Paper and SHERPA Position Paper on the topic of multi-level governance.
- A review of the rural ambition in the CAP Strategic Plans has been executed (Deliverable D3.3).
- Reviewed existing foresight and scenario studies at EU and global levels in Deliverable D3.4.
- Provided an update on Deliverable D3.1 ‘Timetable of the EU negotiation and policy developments’ concerning an overview of the rural policy framework post-2020.

Objective 2. To establish Multi-Actor Platforms as effective and sustainable Science-Society-Policy interfaces
- The 41 regional and national MAPs established during the First and Second Reporting Period continued to run effectively as Science-Society-Policy interfaces. Details of each MAP are available on the SHERPA website.
- One Practice Abstract per MAP has been prepared for publication on the SHERPA website as well as on the EIP-Agri website.
- During the final stages of the project, it was decided to continue collaborating, with the purpose of involved parties (i.e. the SHERPA partners) agreeing to actively share information and possible collaboration opportunities to keep the established SHERPA network existing.

Objective 3. To create a shared knowledge base relevant to EU rural policy by taking stock of results of past and on-going research projects
- The SHERPA online Repository was further developed, improved, and updated for compiling research outputs and findings from past and on-going projects related to rural areas during the Third Reporting Period (Deliverable D4.5)
- Deliverable D4.6 was developed to provide information on the stocktaking of research results and data from projects funded by the EU for research and innovation.
- Content from the SHERPA Repository informed the one SHERPA Discussion Paper developed during the Third Reporting Period: ‘Empowering rural areas in multi-level governance processes’ (Moodie et al., 2023b)

Objective 4. To engage in dialogue between citizens, researchers and policy makers from EU territories
- Through the implementation of the SHERPA approach during MAP Cycle 4 (i.e. 80+ MAP meetings with 610+ actors from science (27%), society (42%) and policy (30%)in 2023), citizens, policymakers, and researchers were engaged on the topic of multi-level governance in rural areas and contributed to the production of a SHERPA Position Paper on this topic, resulting in 31 MAP Position Notes and MAP Fiches.
- Findings from MAP Cycle 3 were debated in a hybrid Annual Conference (31 January and 1 February 2023) with over 100 participants from across Europe representing the three types of actors: science, society, and policy.
- Findings from MAP Cycle 4 and the project as a whole were debated in the in-person Final Conference (1 and 2 June 2023) with over 160 participants from across Europe representing the three types of actors: science, society, and policy.

Objective 5. Formulate recommendations for the development of modern rural policies.
- Recommendations on the topics of the social dimension of rural areas, digitalisation in rural areas, resilient & sustainable value chains, and climate change and land use (i.e. MAP Cycle 3) are documented in the corresponding SHERPA Position Paper.
- Recommendations on the topic of multi-level governance (i.e. MAP Cycle 4) is documented in the corresponding SHERPA Position Paper.
- The second set of recommendations for future research agendas (Deliverable D7.4) was developed and submitted based on the work done during the Second and Third Reporting Period.
- The second set of recommendations for development of future rural policies’ (Deliverable D7.5) was developed and submitted based on the work done during the Second and Third Reporting Period on elements related to the building blocks of the EU Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas.

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)

Results from the project provided evidence for the Staff Working Documents accompanying the Communication published by the European Commission on 30 June 2021. The project became a member of the Rural Pact community with a commitment to facilitate the use of the SHERPA MAPs to network, collaborate and expand the Rural Pact community.

In 2022, SHERPA also developed and published its first set of recommendations to inform future research programming within Horizon Europe.

In the context of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity strategy, SHERPA delivered four Position Papers (‘Climate change and environmental sustainability' and 'Change in production and diversification of the rural economy’, 'Climate change and land-use' and 'Towards sustainable and resilient value chains).

In the Third and final Reporting Period, SHERPA continued to focus on contributing to policy initiatives relevant to rural areas, with a topic that targets the further development and implementation of the LTVRA and the Rural Pact. SHERPA contributed to closing the gap between rural policies and thematic challenges to be addressed in rural areas by producing recommendations on how policy interventions can contribute to the improvement of governance in rural areas. Using the 41 SHERPA MAPs, SHERPA continued to enable tailored inputs to policy priorities at those levels, and feed into dialogue at an EU level.

Being a CSA provided SHERPA with a rare opportunity to develop science, society and policy interfaces relevant to rural areas, unrestricted by topic or geographic domains. The approach enabled actors at local to EU levels to express their views on needs for research, and policy. In turn they trusted the SHERPA process to synthesise and elevate their opinions and recommendations to funders and policy-makers at EU level, and to support arguments for use with decision-makers at national and local levels of governance. The needs identified reflect the perspectives of the SHERPA MAPs of weaknesses in the evidence bases, and gaps in evidence relevant to national or regional socio-economic or biophysical circumstances.

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