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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 4PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area)

Teaser

Summary

Rapid demographic, socio-economic, and climate changes are threatening the sustainable development of the Mediterranean region, where agriculture has to cope with increased demand for food production in a scenario of water scarcity and increasing competition for water use between different sectors. Therefore, policy makers and businesses are required to rapidly respond to the demand for innovation. In addition, the capacity of Mediterranean societies to adapt and effectively react to these changes depends on the overall response of integration that the Euro-Mediterranean region is able to implement.
The overall objective of the 4PRIMA Coordination and Support Action (CSA) has been to create the bases and support for long-term, well-structured and integrated partnership for research and innovation on food systems and water resources, between countries of both shores of the Mediterranean basin.
The objectives of the 4PRIMA CSA stem from the joint effort of several EU Member States and Mediterranean Partner Countries which took part in the preparation of the PRIMA Initiative (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area), which started in 2013.
With PRIMA EU Member States and partner countries across the Mediterranean Area have developed a new partnership characterized by a strong strategic dimension based on the principles of co-decision and co-financing and on an advanced degree of integration among all the participating countries (financial integration, scientific integration, management integration) as the initiative would be on the aegis of an art.185 TFEU. Actually, the PRIMA initiative counts on the participation of 19 PRIMA Participating States among which, 11 EU Member States (Cyprus, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain) and 8 Mediterranean Partner Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey).

Work performed

4PRIMA has been aimed at achieving this main objective through the following Specific Objectives:
Objective 1. Contributing to alignment research and innovation programmes on food systems and water use in the Euro-Mediterranean Area: 4PRIMA reduced fragmentation of programming in the Euro-Mediterranean Area by strengthening coordination among national research programmes of European Member States, Associated Countries and Mediterranean Partner Countries. The alignment of national strategies and research programmes on food systems and water use in the Euro-Mediterranean Area with 4PRIMA priorities contributed to optimize the dedicated resources and the overall cooperation of the single national strategies. This was achieved by having major stakeholders involved in the activities, since the very beginning.
Objective 2. Ensuring awareness raising and stakeholder involvement: To maximise the impact of the activities of 4PRIMA, it was built up a critical mass of relevant stakeholders (universities, research centres, public authorities at local, regional and national levels, NGOs, industry players including SMEs) in both the EU and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries.
Objective 3. Ensuring an appropriate development and uptake of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on the food and water themes in the EuroMed area: The 4PRIMA SRIA responded to specific research and innovation needs and gaps in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The SRIA was the result of an intensive participatory process, implementing the results of previous and on-going EU projects in cooperation between MS and Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs), and then benefit from an extensive consultation involving a critical mass of stakeholders. Within 4PRIMA, the SRIA has been shared and endorsed by all its participating countries, and in its adopted version, reflects the needs and priorities for the Research and Innovation (R&I) in the coming years.
Objective 4. Unlocking innovation on water management and food security of the Mediterranean private and public actors: 4PRIMA contributed also at reducing the existing gap between researches performed across 4PRIMA participating counties on water management/food security. It involved both private and public sector actors lacking those innovative solutions required to solve several issues from the mentioned areas. Unlocking innovation is expected to allow private and public actors to concretely apply, and further implement, new and unmet technological and organizational solutions to the existing problems of water management and food systems. Innovation will stir positive and profitable interactions, by enhancing connections between research actors, businesses and public at large, that need innovative solutions, as well as by assisting and supporting innovators.
Objective 5. Ensuring sustainable support to PRIMA Initiative by adequate structure, procedures and robust implementation plan: 4PRIMA successfully established a sustainable organizational structure for PRIMA Initiative, ensuring its long-term management and implementation. 4PRIMA facilitated the establishment of an Implementation Structure (IS), ensuring it an adequate degree of functionality and operativeness, and supported the preparation of relevant documents such as the PRIMA Workplan 2018 and Multi-annual Implementation Plan (2018-2024), also contributing to the definition of the procedures needed for the full functioning of the PRIMA-IS, including the recruitment process and in compliance with the criteria for Indirect Management of R&D Funds.

Final results

The main short term impact expected at the beginning of the CSA has been already observed: the reinforced cooperation and coordination of food systems and water research programmes within a long term partnership involving research funding bodies, universities, ministries or any other stakeholders from the two sides of the Mediterranean area already led to a definition of a long term common vision in the policy and RDI strategies of the Countries involved in the CSA and enhancement of the collective ownership of the international strategies.
As mid-term impact, it is expected that the shared, co-developed and collectively owned PRIMA Strategic Reseracher Innovation Agenda will further allow to implement a new and coordinated R&I regional programmes with the countries involved in PRIMA action, thus ensuring to reduce fragmentation of efforts and maximise the subsequent impact of the joint R&I initiatives that will stem from the long term partnership stirred by the 4PRIMA.
In the mid-long term, 4PRIMA will boost socio-economic development in the Euro-Mediterranean area by creating the conditions for the effective and fruitful implementation of the 4PRIMA SRIA, according to the Joint Action Plan that will be developed in the project life cycle.
This will result in enhanced capacity building that, in turn, will i) lead to enhanced investment ii) generate employment in the field of food systems and water resources and iii) contribute to establishing successfully companies (SMEs, in particular).