EFUA partners

RWTH is one of Germany’s leading technical universities and one of the Country’s 11 Universities of Excellence. It has an extensive Research and Innovation programme, which includes a significant track record of European research collaborations. The EFUA H2020 project is coordinated through RWTH’s Chair and Institute of Landscape Architecture. The Institute has previously been involved in a number of related research initiatives including the COST Action “Urban Agriculture Europe” and the “ProGIreg” H2020 Project on green infrastructure and nature based solutions. The Institute also coordinates Work Package 2 on communicating, disseminating and exploiting the wider outcomes of the Project. The Institute is further assisted by the RWTH EU Research Office which provides additional backup with administrative and financial aspects.

AERES is a University of Applied Sciences offering research, education and training activities. It focuses on diverse fields which include: agri-food and entrepreneurship; healthy living environments; food sustainability and technology and learning and development. AERES works closely with RUAF Global Partnership on UA issues. They support the development of sustainable urban and peri-urban agriculture and city region food systems by creating, sharing and using knowledge, expertise, practice and innovation. They advise on policy and develop much needed capacity within governments and producers. Over the past 20 years, the RUAF Partnership has engaged over 100 local and international organisations and worked in 50 cities in over 40 different countries. The Partnership synthesises its local, national and international knowledge exchange, advocacy and learning activities and disseminates these on-line and through the Urban Agriculture Magazine. In the EFUA context, AERES focuses on Urban Agriculture’s relevance for European policies and leads WP 5 (policies and actions).

The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology (IPhS) is a social and humanitarian sciences institute based within the Bulgarian Academy of sciences. It conducts philosophical, sociological, and science-based research which relates to knowledge, values and to wider society. The mission of the Institute is to ensure that adequate knowledge of social processes exists and to contribute to the optimization of policy making. Over the past 7 years IPhS has conducted more than 20 research projects funded by different EU Framework programmes for research and innovation along with many other diverse international programmes.

Risorse per Rome (RPR) is a subsidiary company of the City of Rome which delivers strategic urban planning functions and operates as a department of the Municipality. RPR has been active since 1996 in local development, heritage preservation, urban regeneration, strategic planning, regional marketing, energy efficiency, mobility and resilience. RPR boasts an extensive team of professionals who ensure progressive management of the wider Rome metropolitan area, thereby enhancing its economy through attracting inward investment.  RPR also operates throughout Italy, creating extensive partnerships and networks of cities to implement transnational projects. As Rome’s agency for European Projects it has significant experience of successfully implementing EU collaborative actions.

Boerenbond is the largest farmers’ organization in Flanders’, northern part of Belgium, and has existed for more than 120 years. It represents 16.000 farmers in the agricultural or horticultural sector and aims to reach family farmers and horticulturalists. Boerenbond seeks viable and sustainable (economical, ecological, social) approaches to agriculture and horticulture, in dialogue with wider society. It aims to be an honest broker on topics such as landuse, environment, food security, innovation and urban agriculture. Boerenbond champions the interests of farmers, organises training and education and promotes initiatives focusing upon production, improvement, delivery, sales and services. It works with Universities and research partners on a range of Research and Innovation Projects.

The University of Copenhagen (UCPH) is the largest research and education institution in Denmark and ranked as one of the leading universities globally. The Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN) leads and participates in large-scale research projects at national and European level. The Spatial Change and Planning Research Group within the Section of Landscape Architecture and Planning is a highly skilled team with diverse experience which includes agricultural structural development, farming systems, landscapes, policies and spatial planning. The group runs various national and international projects including work in less developed countries (LDCs). From the EFUA perspective, the team is involved in collective practice and governance, policy impact analysis and assessing and monitoring of UA benefits.

The Politecnico di Torino is a renowned European university for engineering and architecture studies, which works in collaboration with industry. The Inter-university Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST) is a joint venture between Politecnico and the University of Turin. DIST focuses upon inter-disciplinary education and research activities in the field of urban studies, spatial planning, local development and the built environment. DIST coordinates basic and applied research, training and technology transfer. These activities emphasise science and urban & regional policy development - including territorial, urban and environmental/landscape planning and projects. Within the EFUA context, POLITO is mainly engaged in identifying types and benefits of UA, along with collective practices and governance approaches - including the role of urban planning.

Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH-SWF) is situated in Westphalia, Germany. The Department of Agriculture, located in Soest, has a long tradition in training farmers and agricultural engineers. The department benefits from active cooperation with practitioners, agribusiness sector enterprises and public institutes - including ministries and chambers of agriculture. Research in the field of urban and peri-urban agriculture has become increasingly important. SWUAS expertise in the field of UA lies in city-adjustment strategies, business models, societal benefits and social and technological innovations. The Department of Agriculture participates in several collaborative networks and projects - both research and implementation oriented. FH-SWF assists EFUA through its experience in agricultural development, business models and related policies. It engages mainly in WP 3 (types and benefits) and in WP 5 (policies and action).

Mammut film was established in 2005 by producer Ilaria Malagutti, authors/directors Michele Mellara, Alessandro Rossi and Francesco Merini. The Company produces quality and innovative audio-visual documentaries aimed at international audiences. These have been screened around the World in theatres and festivals, winning prizes and achieving success with the public and critics. The Company previously participated in 2 European projects on Urban Horticulture named HORTIS (2013/2014 – Erasmus Plus LLP) and Urban Green Train (2016/2018 – Erasmus Plus). Their collaborative production “God Save the Green” has also been extensively screened in many countries.

Wageningen Research (WR) compliments WU through undertaking more applied research. This includes diverse areas such as arable farming, animal husbandry, horticulture, green living environments, agri & rural economics and food technology. WR has a strong track record of transdisciplinary projects, which include numerous FP6, FP7 and Horizon2020 projects. The WR-Field Crops Unit is involved in EFUA. The Unit focuses upon the complete agricultural production chain, including aspects such as breeding, crop performance, sustainable production, entrepreneurship and rural-urban linkages. Major goals include the transfer of scientific knowledge into practice. To realize this, the unit has gained expertise at the forefront of knowledge development and the support of innovation.