Africa Platform

Cluster of Research Excellence on Sustainable Food Systems - survey

14-11-2024

 

The ARUA-The Guild Sustainable Food Systems Cluster of Excellence (CoRE), of which Ghent University is a member, has prepared a survey focusing on screening your potential interest in joining proposals within the Horizon Europe (HEU) Cluster 6 Work Programme 2025 and MSCA Doctoral Networks.

Prior to completing the survey it is important to consult the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Work Programme 2025 and information on MSCA Doctoral Networks at this link. In addition, find a brief Horizon Europe presentation here, aimed at giving an overview of the Programme and, more in general, to guide you in the context of project proposal development.

 

HOW TO EXPRESS INTEREST FOR THE HEU CL6 Work Programme 2025?

The Work Programme includes ca. 80 research topics for which it is possible to submit research proposals. Research topics are grouped into 7 main research subjects called “DESTINATIONS”:

  • DESTINATION 1 - Biodiversity and ecosystem services (BIODIV)
  • DESTINATION 2 - Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption (FARM2FORK)
  • DESTINATION 3- Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors (CIRCBIO)
  • DESTINATION 4- Clean environment and zero pollution (ZEROPOLLUTION)
  • DESTINATION 5- Land, ocean and water for climate action (CLIMATE)
  • DESTINATION 6- Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities (COMMUNITIES)
  • DESTINATION 7- Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal (GOVERNANCE). Please note we have not selected any topic for this destination.

 

For each destination we have purposely selected several topics of potential interest for the SFS-CoRE, which you can find highlighted in yellow in the attached document. Topics highlighted in orange either require or strongly advice the participation of African partners, so please pay special attention to them! As stated above, note that the Work Programme 2025 has been updated (3rd draft).

For each destination, the survey shows only the topics we have selected for collaborating with the CoRE-SFS. In case you are interested to either coordinate or participate as a partner in a project proposal let us know by filling in the relative section. In fact, for each topic you can specify:

  1. whether you are interested in coordinating (possible for both EU and AU partners) or joining as a partner.
  2. Based on your research expertise, what contribution you can bring to a potential proposal.

 

HOW TO EXPRESS INTEREST FOR THE MSCA Doctoral Networks?

If you are interested in joining the preparation of a proposal for Doctoral Networks you can state so at the end of the survey. In this case you can specify whether you are interested in joining as a coordinator (in this case you should have your own idea), or as a partner or an associated partner (to host PhD students for a secondment).

 

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT:

  1. the preparation of a research proposal to be submitted under HEU is extremely competitive and requires high commitment and effort. So please, express your interest only if your expertise really matches with the research topic and if you can dedicate time and effort to build up a possible proposal, together with the ARUA-Guild colleagues in the next months.
  2. The project proposal for a specific topic can take off only if a coordinator is available. In that case, the coordinator will consider the interests expressed in the survey by the SFS-CoRE community for that topic, their expertise and potential contribution. The coordinator remains free to contact the partner/s that he/she thinks are more suitable for his/her proposal idea.
  3. Deadline for MSCA doctoral network is November 2025, while the deadline for Cluster 6 Work Programme is September 2025

 

We are aware that filling in this survey might take a bit of your time, but we believe it is important to start screening the expertise of the SFS-CoRE and lay the groundwork to get to know each other and facilitate future collaboration (even beyond the current calls).