PROJECT STRUCTURE

Structure of Contracts2.0 with Innovation Labs (CILs/PILs) and Work Packages (WP)

Project structure and Workpackages
Conceptual, Analytical & Synthesis Framework (WP 1)

Contracts2.0 develops conceptual, analytical, and synthesis frameworks (WP1): These frameworks help to implement the diverse practice and research activities systematically and in a coordinated manner. In addition, the development of these three frameworks also represents an important internal communication format. Framework development requires a common understanding of research. Such a common understanding is central for trans-disciplinary projects. Frameworks have to integrate multiple bodies of scientific literature and theories (e.g. payments for ecosystem services, policy evaluation, collaborative agri-environmental management, contract theory, institutional analysis, environmental public goods). The analytical framework provides the theory-based foundation for the analysis of existing contract-based approaches. The synthesis frameworks help the project to synthesize interdisciplinary results and the outcomes of the labs.

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Ex-post Analysis of Existing Contracts (WP 2)

Contracts2.0 reviews and analyses existing result-based, collective, land tenure and value chain approaches using a two-tiered approach for a better understanding of the institutional settings and their environmental, socio-economic, and profitability effects. In this step findings of European activities such as the knowledge platforms on results-based models for agri-environmnent and climate measures (AECM) will be integrated. Based on the review, a typology and inventory of existing models is developed. Further detail is added through a detailed analysis of existing innovative approaches around Europe. This review will provide a better understanding of:

1) institutional settings and actor constellations, motivations and interests (including transaction costs, how duties and responsibilities are shared
2) distributional issues (distribution of the added value, financial and/or production risks inherent to the agricultural sector and its complex links with the natural environment)
3) land management practices, the realisation of economic flexibility and win-win situations between marketable agricultural products and the provision of environmental public goods (environmental-agronomic and profitability analysis).

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Contract Innovation Labs (WP 3)

Contracts2.0 will establish 11 Contract Innovation Labs (CILs) under the coordination of WP3, involving research partners, the 13 action partners, action supporters and a variety of relevant actors in the regions. These labs will use a participatory multi-actor approach to ensure a co-design process that addresses real-life needs, problems and opportunities of the agrarian sector and land use policies. This process will include farmers, consumers, extension service providers, nature conservationists, companies, public administration and other stakeholders.

After establishing the labs, the first step of the contract innovation labs will focus on identifying problems with existing contracts in their own region using a SWOT analysis and synthesize the findings with stakeholders. During the next steps alternative ‘dream contracts’ to ensure environmental public goods delivery will be formulated with the stakeholders through collaborative workshops. Design principles for novel contracts using one or more of our four approaches will be developed in the following phase. This will be achieved through thematic workshops (result-based, collective implementation, land tenure, value chain approaches) that integrate experiences of other initiatives (also from other countries), expert knowledge, and results of WP2. Via an iterative process, the results of these workshops will be shared with the Policy Innovation Labs (WP4) for receiving feedback from a governance perspective.

Specific aspects of the contracts will be tested in economic and behavioral experiments (in cooperation with WP5). In order to increase the applicability of the novel solutions, some of our Contract Innovation Labs will implement and test novel contract-based approaches in real life contexts, and will report first-hand experiences through a reflection process. 

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Policy Innovation Labs (WP 4)

The Contract Innovation Labs (CILs) will be accompanied by nine Policy Innovation Labs (PILs) at national or regional level in the different EU countries coordinated by WP4. Based on the PILs, WP4 will help to synthesize regional results for the higher policy level (e.g. national RDPs or European CAP).

The PILs will bring ideas from the CILs into the policy arena to develop appropriate and enabling policy framework conditions and policy instruments to put the novel contract models into practice within thew rural development policies and foster the synergies between public and private incentives. Contracts2.0 will therefore establish the PILs at national or regional level to ensure that the achievements of the CILs in WP3 can be implemented broadly at higher levels. Furthermore, the PILs give feedback into the contract design process (WP3) on how potential new contract models fit into the policy framework and the institutional settings.

The main focus of WP4 is, to assess the broader applicability of the prototypes developed in WP3, tested or not tested, and adapt these for implementation at higher levels.

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Ex-ante Analysis of Novel Contracts (WP 5)

Contracts2.0 supports the development of new, as well as the improvement of existing contractual designs by using economic and behavioral experiments and stated preference valuation methods (WP5) in the phase of testing prototypes of new models. The aim of this step is:
1) to understand farmers’ preferences for various features of contracts for environmental public goods
2) to test the efficiency of various contract features, with particular focus on farmers’ interactions with the environment and collaborative approaches
3) to model consumer preferences and perceptions of ‘label-based’ approaches to stimulate the provision of environmental public goods within the value chain.

From the review of existing approaches (link to WP2) and the identified potential new contract design features (the Innovation Labs in WP3 and WP4), WP5 will use different methods for experimental testing of farmer, administrator and consumer preferences and the potential for success of specific collaborative approaches.

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Communication, Dissemination & Exploitation (WP 6)

WP6 will organize the continious communication, dissemination and exploitation of project outputs to the involved stakeholders, the research community, interested initiatives (including relevant EIP-AGRI Focus Groups and Operational Groups around Europe), and feed into the ongoing development of the CAP towards more regional and local flexibility in the implementation of AECM. The communication strategy will focus not only on the experts and stakeholders directly involved in relevant initiatives and policy processes, but will also target the broader society. These tasks will be led by our action partner DBV, supported by COPA-COGECA, the 12 other action partners in the consortium and our transdisciplinary research team. For an overview of the planned exploitation strategies see LINK.

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Project Coordination (WP 7)

The main goal of WP7 is the overall coordination of Contracts2.0 aligning demands on a scientific and technical level. Based on a project work plan specific tasks and responsibilities are assigned to respective WPs in parallel to milestones and deliverables. By monitoring project progress and applying communication procedures WP7 will enable consortiums partners to link on an internal and external level and ensure unhindered flow of information thus to support decision making. Meetings for the whole consortium as well as cross-WP-meetings will be organized regularly over the project duration. Further coordinating tasks focus on the fulfilment of administrative and financial requirements as well as reporting obligations. A data mangement plan will be set up to manage the collection and storage of data and privacy in close cooperation with WP8.

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Ethics (WP8)

The core issue of WP8 is to carefully monitor the compliance with ethic requirements. A data protection officer is appointed to ensure data protection and privacy for all collected data and full consideration of ethical issues related to sensitive personal data in accordance with national and EU-regulations. All consortium partners actively engage and adhere to the data management plan and will be supported by WP8.

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