AcTivate and TRigger ACTors to deepen the function of Innovation Support Services

The objective of ATTRACTISS is to improve & embed competencies, approaches, instruments & governance models for Member States (MS) AKIS and specifically for Innovation Support Services (ISS) as a crucial AKIS actor, to enable them accelerating individual grassroots innovative ideas to come to fruition & to generate solutions for the transition process to more sustainable agriculture & forestry.

ATTRACTISS has the goals to (1) empower ISS & all AKIS actors, through capacity building & provision of effective methods & supportive tools, to discover innovative ideas & enable uptake in a co-creative way thereby fostering AKIS ecosystem building to support the transition to sustainable and circular agriculture & forestry systems (2) support Managing Authorities (MA) in all EU MS to organise & monitor efficient support for ISS; & (3) provide support for new actors in AKIS processes to better facilitate co-creation approaches involving farming, practitioners & research centres.

ATTRACTISS achieves these goals by (1) setting up an EU wide network for ISSs that allows to connect, develop common understanding, vision & capacities about their roles & functions within the AKIS.

This ultimately leads to the development of an ecosystem in favor of Multi-Actor Approaches (MAA) & innovative projects; (2) building upon and giving continuity to other previous initiatives to focus on ISSs & broaden the networks; (3) systematizing the current databases & tools for ISSs to provide a unique virtual location for tools & guidelines to support best practice; (4) providing a step change in the provision of support & training for key actors in MAA & ISS across MS which builds knowledge, understanding & confidence in the practical delivery & benefits of these approaches; & (5) enabling institutional dialogue among ISSs & MAs based on enhanced understanding of the potential to organize ISS in a way that will lead to targeted CAP interventions for the integration of ISS within the AKIS.