Progress Meeting of AGroFOod clusters platform with common long-term Research and Innovation Strategy towards Economic growth and prosperity (AGFORISE) Project which is a 3-year-project supported under EU 7th Framework Programme was organized on 11 and 12th of November 2009 in Bologna, Italy. Leyla Arsan, the CEO of TAGES, made presentations on the status of the six-month project reporting, future actions and financial issues on the first day of the meeting.
AGFORISE Project is an FP7 project which has started in 2009 and will take 36 months. The project aims to create a common dialogue platform and a joint action plan among the Agrofood clusters that will maximize capacity for research and benefit from research infrastructure through complementariness and synergy, so as to contribute for sustainable development, prosperity, economic growth and global competitiveness of the regions. 13 partners from 3 different regions (Mersin, Emilia-Romagna, Murcia) form the consortium. The main focus of the project is on Agrofood area, which is the most important source of income in all participant regions.
Also AGFORISE shares the FOOD-CLUSTER Initiative’s objectives:
· Sharing best practices, regional strategies, policy recommendations and policy tools to stimulate regional investments in RTD in general and in the food regions;
· Establishing an action programme for Europe’s hotspots in the field of food RTD and innovation with interregional projects to increase investments in RTD;
· Promoting long term collaboration between the regional actors in the field of food related RTD with an aim to benefit from each other’s complementarities and promote the formation of the European Research Area.
The first two presentations of Project Progress Meeting are made by Leyla Arsan, the CEO of TAGES. Arsan’s first presentation was about the results of first six-month reports of 13 partners and future actions to be taken in this direction. According to the reports Arsan evaluated 13 partners’ financial status and the efforts which have been paid so far. She also talked about working and financial actions of the rest 30-month of project. In the second presentation, Financial Issues, Arsan evaluated and informed the partners on the status of the budget, budget items which are eligible and non-eligible, direct and indirect costs and how to calculate and justify the cost in the projects.
Hürrem Betül Levent, from Mersin Trade and Industry Chamber, made a presentation on the SWOT Analysis Outcomes and Report, which is about analysis of regional agrofood sector of Mersin Region (Turkey), Murcia Region (Spain), Emilia Romagna Region (Italy). SOR analysis outcomes of the project are also discussed in the meeting.
Koralp Özkut, from Mersin Special Provincial Administration, made two presentations on the Dissemination Activities and Next Steps for the AGFORISE Project. Project Progress Meeting was closed with a visit to a company associated to TERREMERSE which is the partner of AGFORISE project.
AGRORISE partners are also invited to The International Forum on Project Development which is a research and business networking event that gives support to innovative projects and promotes access to innovation. A seminar was dedicated to AGFORISE partners for the presentation of the regional platform for Agro-food research: success cases and possible opportunities.
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