A Road Map for the Future

Following T&BD S3P’s Steering Committee in Malaga (November 2022), and the networking activities that have been carried out throughout 2023, a clear need has emerged: how could we make the best out of Traceability & Big Data Partnership, by supporting the strategic priorities of regions involved and capitalising on concrete existing potentials and resources, whilst ensuring an effective operational working methodology at the interregional level?

The Action Plan prepared in 2018 already defined the four key working areas that partner regions have shared to place a focus on. Thanks to previous data gathering and processing carried out by the Traceability & Big Data S3P coordinators, we have been provided with a better understanding of the actors, expectations and alignment of T&BD domains with the S3 / S4 strategies of involved partners.

But there is still something missing: what are the concrete strengths and assets of each regional ecosystem, how can they be best linked inside the Partnership pursuing regional priorities, and how can interregional alignment be ensured in the framework of specific projects or initiatives?

Therefore, the coordinators are exploiting the opportunity to bridge this gap by setting up a Working Group (WG) dedicated to define the Road Map for the future of Traceability & Big Data S3P. In addition, the recently created S3 Community of Practice will surely bring an added value to this WG, by providing targeted support from their services portfolio.

This new WG will be in charge of performing the following tasks:

• regional mapping: mapping of the regional actors and ecosystems involved, identifying roles and better detailing strengths, specific competences and facilities and concrete R&D / innovation topics that could be valorised within the S3P;
• preparation of a common glossary (in cooperation also with the leaders of the already existing Working Groups);
• updated prioritisation of topics taking into consideration the point of view of all involved regions and their ecosystem;
• identification of an inclusive yet effective working methodology, to be validated by partner regions, with common processes facilitating the involvement of the right stakeholders in each initiative;
• definition of the next steps for the future of T&BD S3P in a Road map, also considering possible new WGs and assessing the opportunity to set up a Community of learning.

As Fondazione Agrifood & Bioeconomy FVG (FAB FVG) we have been asked by Traceability & Big Data coordinators to be actively involved in this new WG, with the support of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Some key organizations have stated their interest in cooperating: Junta de Andalucía (Traceability & Big Data S3P coordinators), ADR Romania - Agrotransilvania Cluster, AZTI – Basque Country, Associazione Clust-ER Agroalimentare – Emilia-Romagna Region. The WG will be composed of a core group of operational entities (delegated by their regional authority and representing their regional ecosystem) but it will be open to all involved regions, whose priorities will be taken into due consideration.

Concrete activities will start in January 2024, and the tasks related to regional mapping and data gathering will be the first one to be launched in the next weeks.